
Class 



CQE«RiGHT BEPGSIT. 



PRICE, 50 CENTS. 




■ # I 



^^OOMFI£^^,^ 




f ILLUSTRATED |^ 

1 




H istorical G uide. 

EMBRACING AN ACCOUNT OF THE 

ANTIQUITIES 

— OF — 

St. Augustine, Florida, 

WITH MAP. 

To which is added a Conde7ised Guide of the 

St. JOHN'S, OCKLAWAHA, HALIFAX, 



INDIAN RIVE3RS. 



I 



— ^g^i 

SHERIMN & Co. PRS PMIA, 




ST. AUGUSTINE, 

^*'» ITS E«M*0* 



COPYRSGHTED 






tCES TO BLOOMHELD'S 
F ST. AUGUSTINE. 




--n 



S9 






J 




ora which moat was formerly 
d with water. 

Cemetery. 

ing-place of Gen. Oglethorpe, 
brated rose tree at B. Olivero's, 

Spanish grave-yard. 
a Hotel. 

7. 

par's fine orange grove. 

d once by a celebrated In- 
ibe. 

Cemetery. 
St. Joseph's Convent, 
ie Cottage. 

erson's famous orange grove, 
r aged colored persons, 
ce and Public Library, for- 
Spanisla Governor's residence, 
holic Bishop's residence. 
Cathedral. 

Hall. 

House. 

attached to St. Augustine Hotel. 

istine Hotel. 

House. 

ave Market. 
ent in honor of Spanish Liberal 
tution. 

Episcopal Church. 
at Market, 
arth's residence. 
se with Spanish corridor, 
nvent; occupied by the Sisters 
Joseph, 
erian Church. 
Francis Convent. 

Parade Ground. 

Hospital. 

Cemetery, in which can be 
three pyramids, under which 
erred the remains of Gen. Dade 
7 men. 

ville, sometimes called Africa, 
ich place most of the colored 
les are situated. 

ent in memory of the Confeder- 
td. 

St. Augustine Yacht Club. 

claims accuracy in everything ex- 
ioii. 



i^.- 



Bl^OOMFIELD^ 



LLUSTRATED HISTORICAL GuiDE, 



EMBRACING AN ACCOUNT OF THE 



ANTIQUITIES OF ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA 

iffSO "WHICH IS ADDED 

A Condensed Guide of the St. John's, Ocklawaha, 
Halifax, and Indian Rivers. 

Distance Tables to Points on the above-mentioned Rivers, , 
And Principal Cities North, East, and West. 



EVER! TOURIST IN FIORIDA SHOULD PROCURE A COPY. NO BOOK PUBLISHED CONTAIN- 

A 



13 1882 I 



MAX. BLOOMFIELD, 

BOOKSELLEE, NEWSDEALER, & STATIONED "^ 

st. augustine, fla., 

Editor, Publisher, and Proprietor. 

18 83. 



PRICE 50 CENTS. 



ST.AUCilSTINE, 



% 



ITS EHM^^' 



COPYRIGHTED 




. w -\ S I VIS 
_- '■X -pvwntioO 






BIRD \ 



REFERENCES TO BLOOMFIELD'S 
MAP OF ST. AUGUSTINE. 

\. Pitch fn>m which moat wus formerly 

suppUiHl with WHtor. 
2. Catholic Comotery. 
a. Tho hnuiin^'-phico of iJou. Ojflothorpe. 

4. The cvlohratod roso tree at R OlivciVs, 

Sr. 

5. Tho olvl Spanish gravc-vnnl. 
G Maj:nollii Hotel. 

7. Surf City. 

9. B. Conovar's tltie oran>je urovo. 

10. 8ito ocvupied once hy a oelebrated lu- 

dinn trihe. 

11. Hii^iuMiot iVinetery. 

1-. The olil St. Joseph's Couvont. 

i:>. Siinny»iile (\>tta>;o. 

II. l>r. Amlirsou's rainona oran);(> ^;rovo. 

13. Home for UKcd colored iuMsi>n,s. 

Ifi. Posl-OJllce niid riihlie Llhrary, for- 

merly Spanish tiovornor's resideueo. 
17. The Cntholie Hishop'.s naideiice. 
IS. Spuiiialt Cathedral. 
lU. Ma.sonio Hull. 
20. Florida Hoii.s(%. 

'i\. Cottage adached («»S|. AujjUHtlno Hotel. 
'I'l. St. AtiKUsliiio Ilotul. 
T.\. Murloti lIoimH. 
'IX. Tlio old Slave Market. 
?5. MoiiumeiU in honor of Spanish IJherai 

ConntitntioM. 
2(1. Trinity llpiscnpnl Clunrh. 
27. City Meat Market. 
2H. (Jen. Worth's residence. 
21). Old lioiiNo with iSpanlsh corridor. 
80. New Convent; occnjded hy tho Slators 

of St. Joneph. 

31. rreBbytcrliin Church. 

32. Old SI. Francis Convent. 
'A'.\. Militiiry I'unule (iround. 
:u. .Military Ho.spital. 

'''>:>. .Military Cemetery, In whicli can ho 
Been throe pyruniidH, under which 
are Intfrrnd tho remuitiH of (/en. JJudo 
and 107 men. 

36. Lincolnvlllu, somctlnieii called Africa, 

at which pla<«3 moht of I ho colorod 
church*'* are Hltiiated. 

37. Monument in memory of the Confeder- 

ate d"ad. 

38. Wharf. St. Augustine Yacht Club. 
The map claims acenrucy in everything er- 

cept prinportion. 



COPYRIGHTED 1 882, BY MAX BLOOMFIELD. 



F3!q 



SnM' 



THE WHYS AND WHEREFORES 



Having become cognizant of the wants of the tourist, as 
to receiving information on all principal points of interest 
in the " Ancient City," we have endeavored to give as true 
and faithful an account as can be prepared in a condensed 
form. 

As there are many among our visitors who would like to 
be informed as to the early history of St. Augustine, without 
going into the deep detail, which the reading of some of the 
works involves, we have quoted some very interesting facts 
from the different writers. 

Included in this work we have given a complete guide to 
the St. John's, Ocklawaha, Halifax, and Indian Rivers, with 
distance table to the same, and to principal cities, north, 
east, and west, reckoning from Jacksonville, Florida. 

Particular attention»has been given to the accuracy of the 
appended map, which will prove an invaluable aid to all who 
wish to visit the different places of St. Augustine. 

St. Augustine, Florida, June, 1882. 



(3) 



CONTENTS. 



Whys and Wherefores, . 

St. Augustine, . . ~ . 

Expeditions to Florida, . 

Huguenot Massacre, 

St. Augustine in 1773, . 

C. B. S. on St. Augustine, 1 881, 

Spanish Governors, 

Modern St. Augustine, . 

Public and Ancient Buildings, 

The Spanish Cathedral, 

Governor's Palace, 

Oldest Houses, Spanish Corridors, etc., 

United States' Barracks, 

Trinity Episcopal Church, 

Convents, .... 

The Colored Home, 

The Plaza, .... 

The Slave Market, 

Cemeteries — Dade's Massacre — The Martyr 

The Ancient Gateway, . 

Town Wall, .... 

Fort Marion— The Escape of Wild Cat; 

Sea Wall, .... 

Anastasia Island, . 

Orange Groves, Rose Gardens, etc., etc.. 



etc., 



Priest, 



3 

7 

8 

12 

15 
17 
18 

19 
21 

21 

23 
24 
26 
26 
26 

27 

27 

30 
31 

^7 
38 
38 
52 
52 
55 



5 ) 



6 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

New St. Augustine, 56 

Ravenswood, . . . . . . . . . . . • 5^ 

The Yacht Club, 57 

Handsome Winter Residences, . 57 

Bathing, Yachting, Fishing, and Hunting, 59 

Country Drives, . . . . . . . . . . -59 

Boarding-Houses, ... .60 

History of the Minorcans, 60 

St. Augustine in 181 7, 69 

St. Augustine in 1843 — Old Customs, 73 

St. Augustine During the Civil War, 79 

The St. John's River, 80 

Ocklawaha River, 87 

Halifax and Indian Rivers, . . 89 

Mileage on the St. John's River, . . . • . . . - 9^ 

Mileage on the Ocklawaha River, 93 

Mileage from Jacksonville to Points East, West, and North, . . .94 
Florida Views, 95 




BLOOMFIELD'S 

HISTORICAL GUIDE 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 



St. Augustine, Florida, is undoubtedly the oldest city, 
by forty years, in the United States, and was founded at' a 
period when Spain was the greatest power on earth. Juan 
Ponce de Leon is supposed to have been the first one to 
have landed in Florida, on the Sunday before Easter, in 
15 12, it being Palm Sunday, which the Spaniards in those 
days called Pasqua Florida, or Flowery Easter, from the 
palms and roses with which the churches are decorated on 
that day. Therefore he gave the name of Florida to the 
country. 

The event of founding St. Augustine did not take place 
till 1565, fifty-three years after the first landing of De Leon, 
the famous knight, who hunted for the fountain of youth. 
On the 8th day of May, 1565, Pedro Menendez de Aviles, 
at the head of some of Spain's most valiant knights, landed 
on the shores of Florida and planted the banner of Spain, 
proclaiming Philip 11. the ruler of the whole continent of 
North America. We do not intend to go into detail, but 
expect to do our duty as a Guide, and hope to be a good 
and faithful one, but for the benefit of our readers we quote 
the following excellent article : 

(7) 



8 bloomfield's historical guide. 

" EXPEDITIONS TO FLORIDA.* 

" 1497. It is claimed by the English that during this year 
Florida was discovered by Sebastian Cabot, who did not 
land, but merely sailed along the East coast. 

" 15 12. Juan Ponce de Leon left Porto Rico in April, in 
continuation of his search for the Fountain of Youth, and 
on the second day in that month — (which day being the 
Sunday before Easter, is called Palm Sunday, and which the 
Spaniards in those days called Pasqua Florida, or Flowery 
Easter, from the palm branches and flowers with which the 
churches are decorated on that day) — landed on the coast, in 
30 degrees and 8 minutes, north latitude, near the present 
site of St. Augustine, and gave the name of Florida to the 
country. 

" 1 5 16. Diego Miruelo visited the Gulf coast section and 
obtained pieces of gold from the Indians. 

" 15 17. An expedition commanded by Fernandez de Cor- 
dova visited the country. 

"15 19. One Anton de Alaminos soon after visited the 
Gulf coast. 

'* 1521. Ponce de Leon made his second visit to the East 
coast. The Indians attacked his forces, killing great num- 
bers. De Leon, being wounded in the conflict, was obliged 
to retreat to his ships. He set sail for Cuba, and soon after 
his arrival died from the effect of his wounds. 

" 1528. Panfilo de Narvaez landed at Clear Water Bay, 
near Tampa. He explored the northwestern section of the 
State, and becoming discouraged he built several small boats 
and endeavored to reach Mexico. A sudden storm drove 



* Whitney's Pathfinder. 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 9 

his boat to sea, and he was never again heard of. Of the 
300 who composed this expedition, only four were known to 
have escaped; among the number was Alvar Nunez Cabeca 
de Vaca, who succeeded in reaching Mexico, and from thence 
to Spain. 

" 1539. Hernando de Soto disembarked at Tampa Bay, 
and traversed the northwest section of the State. He con- 
tinued his researches far beyond the bounds of Florida into 
the valley of the Mississippi, where he- died, and was buried 
beneath its waters. The expedition then wended its way 
down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico, and from 
thence to Mexico. Of the one thousand who four years 
previous had landed, only three hundred reached their des- 
tination. 

" 1545. A treasure ship, en route from New Mexico to 
Spain, was wrecked on the eastern coast. 

" 1 549. Four Franciscan brothers landed at Tampa Bay, 
and were massacred by the Indians. 

" 1552. About this period an entire Spanish fleet, except- 
ing one vessel, was wrecked on the Gulf coast, while en 
route for Spain from Havana. 

" 1559. Don Tristan de Luna disembarked on the Gulf 
coast with over fifteen hundred followers, but he soon aban- 
doned the country. 

" 1562. The French Protestants, or Huguenots, under Jean 
Ribaut, arrived on the coast, near St. Augustine. He con- 
tinued north and disembarked near the mouth of St. John's 
River, called by the Spanish at that time St. Matheo, and 
erected a stone landmark, bearing the French coat of arms. 
Continuing north he landed at Port Royal and endeavored 
to established a colony. Having built Fort Charles, and 



lO bloomfield's historical guide. 

leaving twenty-five men to garrison it, he returned to France. 
The colony, being neglected and constrained by hunger, 
constructed a rude vessel and set sail for their country. 
They succeeded in their undertaking after having experi- 
enced terrible suffering. 

"1564. Rene de Laudonniere arrived at St. Augustine; 
continuing north he landed at St. John's Bluff, on the St 
John's River, and erected Fort Caroline, where Jean Ribaut 
had previously erected his landmark. 

'* 1565. August 29th, Jean Ribaut, who had previously 
returned to France, arrived with his colony at Fort Caro- 
line, with supplies for Rene de Laudonniere. 

'^1565. Pedro Menendez de Aviles arrived on the coast 
and established St. Augustine, about the same time that Ri- 
baut arrived at Fort Caroline. Menendez, upon hearing of 
the arrival of the French, set sail for the purpose of their 
extermination. He drove the French fleet from the coast 
and returned to St. Augustine, and immediately planned a 
land attack on Fort Caroline. Arriving early in the morn- 
ing he attacked the fort and massacred nearly all its inmates. 
Laudonniere with a few others escaped. Hanging several cap- 
tives to a tree, he placed above them this inscription : ' Not as 
Frenchmen, but as Lutherans.' On the return of Menendez 
to St. Augustine a solemn mass was celebrated and a Te Deum 
sung in commemoration of the victory. Meanwhile a severe 
storm overtook Jean Ribaut's fleet and all were wrecked at 
Matanzas, and subsequently cowardly butchered by Menen- 
dez, in squads of ten, with their hands pinioned behind their 
backs. Thus, in all, nearly three hundred men met their death. 

" 1567. Dominic de Gourgues, a Huguenot gentleman, 
arrived at Fort Caroline, and, with aid from the Indians, fully 



ST. AUGUSTINE. II 

avenged the wickedness perpetrated by Menendez. Over the 
Hfeless bodies of the Spanish he wrote : * Not as unto Span- 
iards or outcasts, but as to traitors, robbers, and murderers.' 

" 1586. Sir Francis Drake made an attack on St. Augus- 
tine. He succeeded in plundering and burning the largest 
portion of the town. His descent resulted in the capture of 
;^2000, which he took from the treasure-chest within the fort. 

" 1598. The Indians massacred several priests in and about 
St. Augustine. 

" 1665. The pirate, John Davis, made a descent upon St. 
Augustine and pillaged the town. 

" 1702. Governor Moore, of South Caroline, captured St. 
Augustine, and held the town for three months ; before he 
withdrew he burned it. He, however, failed to capture the 
fort. 

" 1740. General Oglethorpe laid siege to the town. He 
planted his guns on Anastasia Island, also behind the sand- 
hills on Point Quartell. He also erected a sand battery on 
Anastasia Island, opposite the fort. After an unsuccessful 
attempt of forty days to capture the fort, he withdrew. He 
again in 1743 marched to the very gates of St. Augustine, 
but met with no better success. 

" 1763. Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain. 

" 1766. It was receded to Spain. 

" 1 8 19. Florida passed into the hands of the United 
States. The change of flags occurred in East Florida, at 
St. Augustine, July loth, 182 1. 

'* 1845. Florida was admitted into the Union as a State." 

This article will give the reader a very fair idea how 
eventful must have been the early history of St. Augustine. 



12 BLOOMFIELDS HISTORICAL GUIDE. 

The old saying, " If walls could speak," does not come amiss 
here, for they undoubtedly could tell tales far more thrilling 
than the most absorbing of our melodramatic tales in fiction. 

HUGUENOT MASSACRE. 

For the benefit of our readers we will give the translation 
of the account of the Huguenot massacre, being a memo- 
randum of a letter by the chaplain of the expedition under 
Menendez : 

. " Your Excellency will remember that when I was in 
Spain I went to see the General at the Port St. Marie, and 
that he showed me a letter from monseigneur the King, 
Don Philip, signed by his hand, in which his majesty stated, 
that on the 20th of May, the same year, seven French ships, 
bearing seven hundred men and two hundred women, had 
sailed for Florida." 

(Then follows a description of the armament of the Span- 
ish fleet, and the instructions given to the Adelantado, Pedro 
Menendez, to proceed to Florida and claim the country for 
the King of Spain. — Translator^ 

" On the eighth of the month, the day of the nativity of 
Our Lady, the General landed, with many banners displayed, 
to the sound of trumpets and of other instruments of war, 
and amid salvos of artillery. I took a cross and went before 
them chanting Te Deurn Laiidamns. The General marched 
straight to the cross, followed by all those who accompanied 
him ; they knelt and kissed the cross. A great many In- 
dians witnessed the ceremonies, and imitated all that they 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 1 3 

saw done. The same day the General took possession of 
the country in the name of His Majesty. All the captains 
swore allegiance to him as their General, and as Adelantado 
of the country. 

>i; * * * -Jf ¥r 

" We are in this fort to the number of six hundred com- 
batants. 

* >!< * * * ^ 

*' To-day as I finished the mass of Our Lady, the Admiral 
was informed that a Frenchman had been captured. He 
told us that our enemies had embarked more than two hun- 
dred men on four vessels to go in search of our fleet ; God 
our Father sent suddenly so great a tempest that these men 
must have been destroyed, for since their departure, have 
occurred the worst tempests I ever saw. The following 
Monday we saw a man approach, who cried out loudly : 
'Victory! victory! the French fort is in our hands.' I 
have already stated that the enterprise which we have under- 
taken is for the glory of Jesus Christ and of H 
Mother. The Holy Spirit has enlightened the re; m. of 
our chief, in order that all may be turned to our prrTr \ad 
that we might gain so great a victory. The enemy dia not 
perceive them until they were attacked, most of them being 
in bed; many arose in their night-clothes, and begged for 
quarter. Notwithstanding this, one hundred and forty-two 
were killed, the rest escaped. In an hour's time the fort 
was in our possession.* 

"A few days after this some Indians came to our fort and 
informed us, by signs, that a French vessel had been wrecked 

* Fort Caroline. 



14 BLOOMFIELDS HISTORICAL GUIDE. 

on Anastasia Island.* The General, with the Admiral and 
many followers, repaired to the coast, and taking with him 
a Frenchman, who had accompanied us from Spain, he called 
to them to come over. A French gentleman, who was a ser- 
geant, brought their reply to the summons to surrender ; for 
they had raised a flag as a signal of war. He said that they 
would surrender on condition that their lives might be spared. 
The General demanded an unconditional surrender, Seeing 
that no other resource remained to them, in a short time 
they all surrendered themselves to his discretion. 

" Seeing that they were Lutherans, his Excellency con- 
demned them all to death ; but, as I was a priest and felt a 
sympathy for them, I begged him to grant me a favor, — that 
of sparing those who would embrace our holy faith. He 
granted me this favor. I succeeded in thus saving ten or 
twelve ; all the rest were executed because they were Lu- 
therans and enemies of our holy Catholic faith. All this 
took place on the day of St. Michael, September 22d, 1565. 
Ti.- re were one hundred and eleven Lutherans executed, 
without counting fourteen or fifteen prisoners." 

', Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Gi^ajales, Chaplain of his 
Excellettcy, certify that the foregoiftg is true. 

Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales. 

A Huguenot survivor of the attack on Fort Caroline has 
described that human butchery as *'a massacre of men, 
women, and little infants, so horrible that one can imagine 
nothing more barbarous and cruel." 



* Directly opposite where Fort Matanzas now stands. 



ST. AUGUSTINE. I 5 

ST. AUGUSTINE IN 1773. 

St. Augustine has changed remarkably in the last few 
years. A great many old landmarks are continually being 
removed to make way for enterprises of various kinds. To 
give the reader an idea of St. Augustine, many years ago, 
w^e will quote Stork's description of it as it appeared about 
1773: 

" The town of St. Augustine is situated near the glacis of 
the fort, on the west side of the harbor. It is an oblong 
square. The streets are regularly laid out, and intersect 
each other at right angles. They are built narrow on pur- 
pose to afford shade. The town is above half a mile in 
length, regularly fortified with bastions, half bastions, and a 
ditch. Besides these works, it has another sort of fortifica- 
tion, very singular, but well adapted against the Indians, an 
enemy the Spaniards had most to fear. It consists of several 
rows of palmetto trees, planted very close along the ditch, 
up to the parapet. Their pointed leaves are so many che- 
vaux-de-frise, that make it entirely impenetrable. The two 
southern bastions are built of stone. 

" In the middle of the town is a spacious square, called 
the Parade, open towards the harbor. At the bottom of this 
square is the governor's house, the apartments of which are 
spacious and suited to the climate, with high windows, a 
balcony in front, and galleries on both sides. To the back- 
part of the house is joined a tower, called in America a 
lookout, from which there is an extensive prospect, towards 
the sea as well as inland. There are two churches within 
the walls of the town, the Parish Church, a plain building, 
and another belonging to the- Convent of Franciscan Friars, 



i6 bloomfield's historical guide. 

which is converted into barracks for the garrison. The 
houses are built of freestone, commonly two stories high, 
two rooms upon a floor, with large windows and balconies. 
Before the entry of most of the houses runs a portico of 
stone arches. The roofs are commonly flat. The Spaniards 
consulted convenience more than taste in their buildings. 
The number of houses in the town and within the lines 
when the Spaniards left it was above 900 ; many of them, 
especially in the suburbs, being built of wood, are now gone 
to decay. 

*' The inhabitants, of all colors, whites, negroes, mu- 
lattoes, Indians, etc., at the evacuation of St. Augustine, 
amounted to 5700, including the garrison of 2500 men. 
Half a mile from the town, to the west, is a line, with a broad 
ditch and bastions, running from St. Sebastian's Creek to 
St. Mark's River. A mile further is another fortified line, 
with some redoubts, forming a second communication be- 
tween a stoccata fort, upon St. Sebastian's River, and Fort 
Mosa, upon the river St. Mark's. 

" Within the first line, near the town, was a small settle- 
ment of Germans, who had a church of their own. Upon 
St. Mark's River, within the same line, was also an Indian 
town, with a church built of freestone. What is very re- 
markable, the steeple is of good workmanship and taste, 
though formerly built by the Indians The governor has 
given the lands belonging to this township as glebe-lands to 
the Parish Church." 

St. Augustine in 1882 is undoubtedly a beautiful spot, 
but, by what we glean from old writers, in ancient times 
it must have presented a scene of great beauty, with its 
profusio-n of orange groves and lovely flower gardens. 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 1 7 

In January, 1766, the thermometer sank to 26"^ above 
zero. The only snow-storm remembered was during the 
winter of 1774; the inhabitants spoke and thought of it as 
the '' white rain." But the coldest weather ever known in 
Florida or St. Augustine was in February, 1835, when the 
thermometer sank to 7° above zero, and the St. John's 
River froze several rods from the shore. This freeze proved 
a great injury to St. Augustine, for it killed every fruit tree 
in the city, and deprived the majority of the people of their 
only income. The older inhabitants still remark, that the 
freeze of 1835 cost most of them their all. 

" C. B. S." ON St. Augustine in 1881. 

This is how it strikes " C. B. S.," of Winter Cities in Slim- 
mer Land : 

" Then morning comes, ' and such a morning as does not 
come anywhere except at St. Augustine ;' and the verdict, 
St. Augustine is not what all the other world is, is the uni- 
versal one. And then with wanderings through the quaint 
old streets, sailing down the bay to the light-houses and the 
coquina quarries, gathering shells by the seashore, quiet 
strolls along the Sea-wall, resting now under the shadow of 
the watch-tower in the Castle San Marco, the hours fly so 
quickly, but not too quickly, to paint the pictures that 
memory loves to call her own." 

For the benefit of our readers we will enumerate the 
names of those who have ruled St. Augustine, until the 
change of flags. 

2 



i8 



BLOOMFIELDS HISTORICAL GUIDE. 



SPANISH GOVBRNOBS 

I. Juan Ponce de Leon, landed , 
Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon, 
Panfilo de Narvaez, 

Hernando de Soto, appointed 1537, died 
Tristan de Luna, . . , , 

Angel de Villafane, 
Pedro Menendez de Aviles, . 

8. Pedro Menendez Marquez, killed . 

9. Hernando de Miranda, . 

10. John D. Salinas, .... 

11. Diego de Rebolledo, 

12. Juan de Hita y Salazar, 

13. Pablo de Hita, commenced 



Gener 



14. John Marquez Cabrera, in 

15. Francesco de la Guerra, commenced 

16. Diego de Quiroga, 

17. Laureano de Torrez i Ayala, in 

18. Joseph de Zufiiga i la Cerda, till 

19. Francesco de Corcoles Martinez, Captain- 

20. Juan de Ayala y Escobar, commenced 

21. Anthony Benavides, 

22. Francesco de Moral Sanchez, . 

23. Manuel de Montiano, 

24. Alonso Hernandez de Herida, 

25. Lucas Fernando Palacios, 

The above still lacks about ten names of being complete. 
The following were the Captains-General during the second 
Spanish supremacy: 

I. Vincente Manuel de Zespedez, .... 1784 



• 1524 

• 1527 

• 1542 
1559-61 

• 1561 
1565-72 

• 1574 

1575-93 
1593-1619 

• 1655 
1676-79 

• ^679 
. 1680 
. 1684 

1690 
- 1693 

1708 
, 1708-12 

1712 
1719-30 
^730-37 
1737-41 
1755-58 
1758-62 



2. Jose de Galvez, 

3. Juan Nepomuceno Quesada, 

4. Enrique White, 

5. Juan Jose de Estrada, 

6. Sebastian Kindalem, 

7. Juan Jose de Estrada (second term), 

8. Jose Coppinger, .... 



1786 
1790 
1796 
1811 
1812 
1815 
816-21 



* Whitney's Pathfinder. 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 1 9 

We have given the reader such portions of history as will 
serve to familiarize him with the early days of St. Augustine. 
We will now attend to our real object, — a faithful guide. 

MODERN ST. AUGUSTINE. 

St. Augustine is now chiefly an attractive and delightful 
winter resort, and, on account of its historical relations, is 
undoubtedly the resort to which the tourist or invalid is 
most partial. It is situated about thirty-five miles from* Jack- 
sonville, directly south, and fifteen miles from the St. John's 
River, east. 

It is on a peninsula, bounded on the north by the main- 
land, on the east by North River, the harbor channel and 
the Matanzas River separating it from Anastasia Island, on 
the ocean ; and on the south and west by the San Sebastian 
River. The city occupies the same point upon which Men- 
endez first located, who gave the name of St. Augustine to 
the town, as he arrived on the coast on the day dedicated to 
that Saint. It having previously been an Indian village, by 
the name of Selooe or Seloy, for the Spanish found habita- 
tions in considerable numbers. 

In addition to the Catholic Cathedral, the city possesses 
six churches; Presbyterian (i). Episcopalian (r), Methodist 
(colored i). Baptist (colored 2), and African (i). Four ex- 
cellent schools are at all times well attended, ist. Peabody 
Fund School, No. i. 2d. Peabody Fund School, No. 2, for 
colored children. 3d. The Convent School, for girls, where 
excellent tuition is given by the " Sisters of St. Joseph." 
4th. The Sisters' School, for boys. For a general education 
the Peabody School will compare favorably with any in. the 



20 BLOOMFIELDS HISTORICAL GUIDE. 

country; and parents desiring to remain here during the 
winter can with safety allow their children to attend. 

The ancient city has two newspapers, both weekly. The 
St. John's Weekly y M. R. Cooper, Esq., editor, issued every 
Friday evening. 

The St. Augustine Press, J. F. Whitney, Esq., editor, 
issued every Thursday evening. 

From January to May we have two mails daily, and 
your newspaper is but thirty-six hours old on its arrival 
from New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Cincin- 
nati, etc. 

Communication by telegraph is unsurpassed, and the ex- 
press companies' service is daily. 

The hotel and boarding-house accommodations are ample, 
and better than ever. St. Augustine is especially beneficial 
to invalids for its excellent sea-bathing, which can be enjoyed 
at the bath-house, either hot or cold. Another great feature 
is the artesian well, the mineral qualities of which is said to 
be equal to that of Saratoga, Bedford, and other famous 
springs. 

We will now enter the quaint old town and take a look at 
all there is to be seen. The first thing that will strike you as 
being peculiar is the streets, of which there are a number. The 
principal ones run north and south. Bay Street, the widest 
of ail, faces the water; the next, west of this, is Charlotte 
Street ; next is St. George, then comes Tolomato Street. 
Hospital Street also runs north and south, commencing at 
King Street, and running to Bridge Street; the latter runs 
east and west. King Street is the principal one running 
east and west ; it begins at the depot and ends at the Sea- 
wall. You will be greatly attracted as you pass through 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 21 

this street by the lovely lane with its overhanging trees of 
oak and pride of India. The narrowest street in the city is 
Treasury, portions of which are only seven feet wide, and 
you can with very little exertion shake hands across it. 
The narrowness of the streets and the hanging balconies 
add greatly to the quaintness of the whole. The old 
houses, generally built close to the street, are apt to give the 
exterior a barren look ; if the visitor will take the trouble to 
give a peep into the court or rear yard, he will be aston- 
ished to see the semi-tropical scene that presents itself. 
The streets in the old Spanish times were floored with con- 
crete, and vehicles and horses were not allowed to travel on 
them. 

The Shell Road, formerly called King's Road, leading from 
the City Gates to Jacksonville, was constructed in 1765, by 
subscription ; 'tis the favorite drive in the city, and leads to 
** Magnolia Grove," about five miles out, noted for the grand 
avenues of live oaks, which are profusely draped with Spanish 
moss. 'Tis a place well worth visiting. 

The old Spanish residences are constructed of coquina, a 
conglomeration of shell and sand, the quarries of which are 
situated on Anastasia Island. 'Tis said that the old-time 
Spanish houses were flat-roofed. 

PUBLIC AND ANCIENT BUILDINGS. 

The Spanish Cathedral. — This is undoubtedly the quaintest- 
looking structure in the city. It was completed in 1793, at 
a cost of over ;^ 16,000. Its quaint Moorish belfry, with four 
bells, which are set within separate niches, together with the 
clock forms a complete cross. 



22 



BLOOMFIELD S HISTORICAL GUIDE. 



Upon one of the bells appears the following : 

t 

- SANCTE JOSEPH 
ORA PRO NOBIS 
D 1682 

This bell was probably taken from the ruins of a previous 
church, located on the west side of St. George Street. The 
other bells have inscriptions on them, but no date. The 
small bell in the upper niche was placed there about fifty 
years ago, having been presented to the church by Don 



Fig. 1. 






4- 




THE SPANISH CATHEDRAL AT ST, AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA. 



Geronimo Alverez. The ceiling of the church is painted; 
the floor, now of wood, was formerly concrete. There is 
one painting of interest hanging on its walls, bearing the 
following inscription : 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 23 

FIRST MASS IN SAINT AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA, SEP. 8, 

1565, AT THE LANDING OF THE SPANIARDS 

UNDER PEDRO MENENDEZ. 

WITH RELIGION CAME TO OUR SHORES CIVILIZATION, 

ARTS, SCIENCES AND INDUSTRY. 

This painting is supposed to be not the imagination of 
some person, but a true copy of the landing of the Spanish 
as inscribed on the picture. Near the altar hangs a unique 
lamp of solid silver, in which has been kept burning the 
sacred flame, almost without intermission, for nearly a hun- 
dred years. Near the vestibule, upon the left as you enter 
the church, is the sacred crucifix belonging to the early 
chapel of Nra Sra de la Leche. It is said that another 
ornament of this chapel, a statue representing the Blessed 
Virgin watching from the church over the camp of the new 
believers in her Son's divinity, is in the convent of St. 
Theresa, at Havana. A very interesting document is prob- 
ably in the possession of the church in Cuba, which is an 
inventory taken under a decree, issued February 6th, 1764, 
by Morel, Bishop of Santa Cruz, enumerating all the orna- 
ments, altars, effigies, bells, and jewels, belonging to the 
churches and religious associations of St. Augustine. This 
inventory, and much of the property, was taken to Cuba in 
a schooner, called Our Lady of the Light. From this record 
it might be possible to learn something of the history of 
the bells in the belfry.* 

GOVERNOR'S PALACE, 

Now used as the Post-Ofifice, Custom House, and Public 
Library, stands directly opposite the western side of the 

* Dewhurst's History of St. Augustine, published in 1881. 



24 BLOOMFIELDS HISTORICAL GUIDE. 

Plaza, corner of St. George and King streets. Under the 
skill of modern workmanship it has lost its quaint appear- 
ance, for it truly was a quaint-looking structure, with its 
lookout towers and balconies, and the handsome gateway, 
mentioned by De Brahm, which is said to have been a fine 
specimen of Doric architecture. It was completely sur- 
rounded by a thick coquina wall, the remains of which can 
still be seen on the northern side of the building ; the corners 
of this wall rose up in columns about eight feet higher than 
the wall. One of these columns is still standing, in excel- 
lent preservation, looming grimly up next door to Bloom- 
field's Stationery Emporium. 

OLDEST HOUSES, SPANISH CORRIDORS, ETC. 

St. Augustine has a great many old houses. Each history 
and guide picks out some other structure to be its " oldest 
house " in town, therefore, we will try to enumerate them 
all, and then " you pays your money and takes your choice." 

The wall opposite the United States Barracks, upon which 
reclines the " Date-Palm " tree, is said to be the oldest wall 
in the city ; this is very probable, as we have heard it re- 
marked by one of our old Spanish Dons, aged seventy-eight 
years, that he remembers that both wall and tree stood there 
when he was a child. 

Brinton, in his Guide to Florida (1869), says: "The 
* oldest house ' in town is at the corner of Green Lane and 
Bay Street. A century ago it was the residence of the Eng- 
lish Attorney-General, and probably was built about 1750. 
The house decayed for want of occupancy, and the wood, 
being a sort of royal palm, fell a prey to the relic-hunting 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 



25 



tourist and the curiosity dealers, who made walking-canes 
from it." On Hospital Street, between Artillery and Green 
Lane, stands a very old coquina building, used now as a 



Fig. 2. 




ST. FRANCIS STREET OPPOSITE UNITED STATES BARRACKS. 



Storehouse, the rear of which presents a good idea of a 
Spanish house, showing the characteristic Spanish corridors. 
This is undoubtedly a very old house. But the oldest origi- 
nal walls now standing in the United States, are the 



26 bloomfield's historical guide. 

UNITED STATES BARRACKS. 

This building was once used and designated as the " St. 
Francis Convent," the appearance of which has been much 
changed by the extensive repairs and alterations made by 
the United States government. It had formerly a large cir- 
cular lookout upon the top, from which a beautiful view of 
the surrounding country was obtained. The building is lo- 
cated at the south end of the town, at the termmus of the 
Sea-wall, and occupied at present by United States troops. 
Concerts are given by the military band, in the parade 
ground fronting the barracks, twice a week. Guard mount, a 
very interesting sight, in which the band participates, can be 
witnessed every morning, Sundays included, at 9 o'clock. 

TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 

Standing on the southern side of the Plaza, directly oppo- 
site the Spanish Cathedral, was commenced in 1827, and 
consecrated in 1833, by Bishop Bowen, of South Carolina. 

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 

Was built about 1830. It is a plain coquina building, situ- 
ated on St. George Street, between Bridge and St. Francis 
streets. 

CONVENTS. 

The ^/<^ convents are all of the past. The very old convent 
of St. Mary was situated on the site just opposite the 
Bishop's residence. In the rear of Bloomfield's News Empo- 
rium stands what was formerly the new St. Mary's Convent, 
but the same is vacant now, the lower floors only being used 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 2/ 

for school purposes. The Convent of the Sisters of St. Joseph 
is a fine coquina building, located on St. George Street, 
about one block south of the Plaza. A visit to the same is 
quite interesting. A particularly fine display of laces, and 
Spanish and Mexican work, can here be seen. 

THE COLORED HOME 

For the aged is locatedon Bronson Street, near King, and 
close to the Maria Sanchez Creek. It is a large two-and- 
one-half story building, with mansard roof, and has broad 
piazzas. The Home was endowed by Buckingham Smith, 
Esq., and built by the late Dr. Isaac Bronson. 

THE PLAZA. 

What would St. Augustine be without its Plaza ? Thanks 
to Holmes Ammidown, Esq., it is now an object of pride. 
Previous to his good work, it was the resort of stray horses 
and cattle. 'Tis here that the balmy sea-breeze can always 
be enjoyed beneath the shade of the pride of India, or the 
sturdy oak. Not alone for its natural beauties should it be 
treasured, but also for its historical connections. " The 
Plaza de la Constitucion," is situated in the centre of the 
city. During the early part of the Revolution, effigies of 
John Han'cock and Samuel Adams were burned here by the 
British troops. Nearly in the centre of the square stands 
a monument, twenty feet high, erected in 1812, in com- 
memoration of the '' Spanish Liberal Constitution." A short 
time after, the government gave orders that it should be 
torn down. The citizens of St. Augustine, upon hearing of 
this order, quietly removed and concealed the inscribed 
marble tablets. The monument remained undisturbed. In 



28 bloomfield's historical guide. 

1818 the tablets were quietly replaced. Of the monuments 
erected in commemoration of the Constitution, this is the 
only one now standing. Upon the east side is the larger 
marble tablet, upon which is engraved the following : 

Plaza de la 
Constitucion. 
Promulga en esta Ciudad 
de San Agustm de la Florida 
Oriental en 17 de Octubre de 
181 2 siendo Gobernador el 
Brigadier Don Sebastian 
Kindalem Cuba Hero 
del order de Santiago 
Peira eterna meiiioria 
El Ayuntamiento Consti- 
tucional Erigioeste Obelisco 
dirigido por Don Fer- 
nando de la Plaza 
Arredondo el Joven 
Regidor De cano y 
Don Francisco Robira 
Procurador Sindico. 
Ano de 1813. 

TRANSLAFION, 

Plaza of the Constitution, promulgated in tlie city of St. Augustine, East 
Florida, on the 17th day of October, the year 181 2. Being then Governor 
the Brigadier Don Sebastian Kindalem, Knight of the Order of wSan Diego. 

FOR ETERNAL REMEMBRANCE, 

the Constitutional City Council erected this monument under the supervision 
of Don Fernando de la Maza Arredondo, the young municipal officer, oldest 
member of the corporation, and Don Francisco Robira, Attorney and Re- 
corder. 

" Immediately under the date there is cut in the marble 
tablet, the Masonic emblem of the square and compass. 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 29 

The reader can readily believe that the City Council of St. 
Augustine, in 1813, were all too good Catholics to be re- 
sponsible for this symbol of Masonry. The history of that 
piece of vandalism is said to be as follows : Soon after the 
close of the war of the rebellion, the ' young bloods ' amused 
themselves by endeavoring to create an alarm in the mind 
of the United States commandant, and by executing a series 
of cabalistic marks at different localities throughout the 
town, to convey the impression that a secret society was in 
existence, and about to do some act contrary to the peace 
and dignity of the United States. Besides other marks and 
notices posted upon private and public buildings about the 
town, this square and compass was one night cut upon the 
tablet of the Spanish monument, where it will remain as 
long as the tablet exists, an anomaly without this explana- 
tion."* 

Opposite the Spanish monument stands the Confederate 
one, erected in 1880, by the " Ladies Memorial Society," in 
memory of the soldiers of St. Augustine, who fell in the late 
war, the names of whom are inscribed on the large tablets. 
The following inscriptions are on the smaller slabs on the 
east and west sides. 

Our Dead. 
Erected by the Ladies' Menumal Association, of St. Augustine, Florida, 

A.D. i872.t 

In Memoriam. 
Our loved ones, who gave their lives in the service of the Confederate States, 



^ Dewhurst's History of St. Augustine, 1881. 

f The first monument v^as erected in 1872. It was in the shape of a broken 
shaft on a pillar or pedestal. It stood on St. George Street almost diagonally 
opposite the Presbyterian church. 



30 BLOOMFIELDS HISTORICAL GUIDE. 

The following inscription is on the south side : 

They died far from the home that gave them birth. 
By comrades honored, and by comrades mourned. 

On the north side : 

They have crossed the river and rest under the shade of the trees, 

THE SLAVE MARKET. 

East of the Confederate monument stands the old, old 
market, A queer-looking structure it is. 'Tis hard to name 
its style of architecture, therefore we will call it a piece of 



Fig. 3. 




THE OLD SLAVE MARKET AT ST. AUGUSTINE. FLORIDA. 

Augustinian mechanism. Four years ago it was used as a 
meat market, but since, the Council and a private gentleman 
have -rescued it from what must have been degrading to this 
proud piece of Spanish antiquity, of which very little is 
known. We have been told that before the war it was used 
as a slave market. Whenever a sale was to take place the 
bell in the cupola would be rung to notify the public. The 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 3 I 

reader will please understand that the compiler of this Guide 
does not hold himself responsible for the slave-market story, 
but, in the words of the old sergeant at the fort, will say : 
*' I'm only giving it to ye as it was given to me, d'ye moind 
now? 

Situated in the Plaza will be found the artesian well, of 
the mineral qualities of which we have already spoken. 

CEMETERIES— DADE MASSACRE, ETC. 

We will now take the interested stranger to the military 
burying-ground, which is located just south of the United 
States Barracks. Under three pyramids here are interred 
the remams of Major Dade and his one hundred and seven 
comrades, who were massacred by the Indians when on their 
way to theWithlacoochee River to join General Clinch. These 
were sent from Fort Brooke, at Tampa, to reinforce General 
Clinch, and on the 28th of December, 1835, were attacked 
by eight hundred Indians in ambush. At the first fire more 
than half the soldiers were killed or wounded, but the remain- 
der returned the fire, and a small six-pounder cannon was 
used with some effect until the artillerymen were all killed 
or wounded. The Indians then showed themselves, leaving 
their ambush and thus disclosing their numbers, of whom 
one hundred were mounted. The fight was kept up for an 
hour, when the Indians slackened their fire, and the soldiers 
felled trees and erected a triangular fortress as a protection. 
The respite, however, was temporary. The Indians again 
rushed on with whoop and yell to complete the fearful 
butchery, and a desperate .hand to hand conflict was main- 
tained, until all but three of the soldiers were killed or 
wounded. These three managed to escape and tell the 



32 BLOOMFIELDS HISTORICAL GUIDE. 

sad tale. During the conflict the soldiers used their bayo- 
nets and clubbed their muskets, and the Indians made use 
of their knives and tomahawks. 

After the battle the wounded were killed and scalped, and 
the victors danced a war dance over the battle-ground, and 
at length left the field of carnage with the dead unburied, 
lying in the postures in which they had fallen. 

A dog belonging to Captain Gardner escaped and re- 
turned to Tampa, giving at that place the first intimation of 
the bloody work that had been perpetrated. When fresh 
troops arrived on the scene, they beheld their dead com- 
rades lying where they had fallen, with the stern expression 
of battle still on their faces, which were turned in the direc- 
tion of the- quarter from which their savage foes had attacked 
them. They were buried on the battle-field, and the six- 
pounder cannon was placed upright in the ground to mark 
the spot. Their remains were afterwards removed to this 
place. 

In the old Spanish graveyard, situated on Tolomato 
Street, just north of the Ball orange grove, you will find 
some very queer and antique-looking tombs. It is forbidden 
by the city to bury any one in this old cemetery unless the 
parties have a vault. This cemetery is one of the most 
historic spots in or about St. Augustine. 

"In 1592 twelve Franciscan missionaries arrived at St. 
Augustine, with their Superior, Fray Jean de Silva, and placed 
themselves under the charge of Father Francis Manon, War- 
den of the Convent of St. Helena. One of these, a Mexican, 
Father Francis Panja, drew up in the language of the Yemas- 
sees his abridgment of Christian Doctrine, said to be the first 
work compiled in any of our Indian languages. 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 33 

" The Franciscan Father Corpa estabhshed a mission 
home for the Indians at Tolomato, in the northwest portion 
of the city of St. Augustine, where there was an Indian vil- 
lage. Father Bias de Rodriques, also called Montes, had 
an Indian church at the village of the Indians called Ta- 
poqui, situated on the creek called Cano de la Leche, north 
of the fort. Upon this site is now the new Catholic ceme- 
tery. It is just outside of the City Gates, and is reached by 
way of the Shell Road. The walls of the chapel are modern. 
The same was destroyed a few years ago by a severe north- 
easter, and the church, bearing the name of ' Our Lady of 
the Milk,' was situated on the elevated ground, a quarter 
of a mile north of the fort, near the creek. A stone church 
existed at this locality as late as 1795, and the crucifix be- 
longing to it is preserved in the Roman Catholic church at 
St. Augustine. These missions apparently were attended 
with considerable success, large numbers of the Indians 
being received and instructed both at this and other mis- 
sions. 

*' Among the converts at the mission of Tolomato was the 
son of the Cacique, of the province of Quale, a proud and 
high-spirited young leader, who by no means submitted to 
the requirements of his spiritual father, but indulged in ex- 
cesses which scandalized his profession. Father Corpa, 
after trying private remonstrances and warnings in vain, 
thought it necessary to administer-to him a public rebuke. 
This aroused the pride of the young chief, and he suddenly left 
the mission, determined upon revenge. He gathered from the 
interior a band of warriors, whom he inspired with his own ha- 
tred against the missionaries. Returning to Tolomato with his 
followers, un-der cover of the night, he crept up to the mission 

3 



34 BLOOMFIELDS HISTORICAL GUIDE. 

house, burst open the chapel doors, slew the devoted Father 
Corpa while at prayers, then severed his head from his body, 
set it upon a pike-staff, and threw his body out into the 
forest, where it could never afterwards be found. The scene 
of this tragedy was in the neighborhood of the present Ro- 
man Catholic cemetery of St. Augustine. 

"As soon as this occurrence became known in the Indian 
village all was excitement, some of the most devoted bewailing 
the death of their spiritual father, while others dreaded the 
consequences of so rash an act, and shrank with terror from 
the vengeance of the Spaniards, which they foresaw would 
soon follow. The young chief of Gaule gathered them around 
him, and in earnest tones addressed them. * Yes,' said he, ' the 
Friar is dead. It would not have been had he allowed us to live 
as we did before we became Christians. We desire to return 
to our ancient customs, and we must provide for our defence 
against the punishment which will be hurled upon us by the 
governor of Florida, which, if it be allowed to reach us, will 
be as rigorous for this single friar as if we killed them all. For 
the same power which we possess to destroy one priest we hav^e 
to destroy them all.' His followers approved of what had been 
done, and said there was no doubt but what the same ven- 
geance would fall upon them for the death of one as for all. He 
then resumed : ' Since we shall receive equal punishment for 
the death of this one as though we had killed them all, let us' 
regain the liberty of which these Friars have robbed us, with 
their promises of good things, which we have not yet seen, 
but which they seek to keep us in hope of while they accu- 
mulate on us, who are called Christians, injuries and disgust, 
making us quit our wives, restricting us to one only, and 
prohibiting us from changing her. They prevent us from 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 35 

having our balls, banquets, feast celebrations, games, and 
contests, so that being deprived of them we lose our ancient 
valor and skill, which we inherited from our ancestors. Al- 
though they oppress us with labor, refusing to grant even a 
respite of a few days, and although we are disposed to do 
all they require from us, they are not satisfied ; but for every- 
thing they reprimand us, injuriously treat us, oppress us, 
lecture us, call us bad Christians, and deprive us of all the 
pleasures, the which our fathers enjoyed, in the hope that 
they would give us heaven, by their subjecting us and hold- 
ing us under their absolute control ; and what have we to 
hope except to be made slaves ? If we now put them all to 
death, we shall destroy these excrescences, and force the gov- 
ernor to treat us well.' The majority were carried away by 
this address, and rang out the war-cry of death and defiance. 
While still eager for blood their chief led them to the In- 
dian town of Tapoqui, the mission of Father Montes, on 
Cano de la Leche. Tumultuously rushmg in they informed 
the missionary of the fate of Father Corpa, and that they 
sought his own life and those of all his order, and then with 
uplifted weapons bade him prepare to die. He reasoned 
and remonstrated with them, portraying the folly and wick- 
edness of their intentions; that the vengeance of the Span- 
iards would surely overtake them, and implored them with 
tears that for their own sake rather than his they would 
pause in their mad designs. But all in vain. They were 
alike insensible to his eloquence and his tears, and pressed 
forward to surround him. Finding all else in vain, he begged 
as a last favor that he should be permitted to celebrate mass 
before he died. In this he was probably actuated in part 
by the hope that their fierce hatred might be assuaged by 



36 bloomfield's historical guide. 

the sight of the ceremonies of their faith, or that the delay 
might afford time for succor from the adjoining garrison 
The permission was given, and then for the last time the 
worthy Father put on his robes of sacrifice. The wild and 
savage crowd, thirsting for his blood, reclined upon the floor 
and looked on in sullen silence, awaiting the conclusion of 
the rites. The priest alone, standing before the altar, pro- 
ceeded with this most sad and solemn mass, then cast his 
eyes to heaven and knelt in private supplication, when the 
next moment he fell under the blows of his most cruel foes, 
bespattering the altar, at which he ministered, with his own 
life's blood. His crushed remains were thrown into the 
fields, that they might serve for the fowls of the air or the 
beasts of the forest, but not one would approach it except a 
dog, which, rushing forward to lay hold of the body, fell 
dead upon the spot, says the ancient chronicle, and an old 
Christian Indian, recognizing it, gave it sepulture in the 
forest. From thence the ferocious young chief of Gaule led 
his followers against several other missions in other parts 
of the country, which he attacked and destroyed, together 
with the attendant clergy. Thus upon the soil of the ancient 
city was shed the blood of Christian martyrs, who were 
laboring with a zeal well worthy of emulation, to carry the 
truths of religion to the native tribes of Florida. Two hun- 
dred and fifty years have passed since these scenes were 
enacted, but we cannot even now repress a tear of sympathy 
and a feeling of admiration for those self-denying mission- 
aries of the cross, who sealed their fate with their blood, 
and fell victims to their energy and devotion. The specta- 
cle of the dying priest, struck down at the altar, attired in 
his sacred vestments and perhaps imploring pardon upon 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 



37 



his murderers, cannot fail to call up in the hearts of the most 
insensible something more than a passing emotion."* 

The Huguenot Cemetery is located just outside the City 
Gates, and on the west side of the Shell Road. 

THE ANCIENT GATEWAY, 

Commonly called the City Gates, is located directly north 
of St. George Street, and west of Fort Marion, being al- 
most parallel with the fort. It is flanked by two square 
pillars with Moorish tops. On each side a dry ditch 

Fig. 4. 




THE OLD CITY GATE AT ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA. 

and the remains of a wall. It is a picturesque and imposing 
structure. The supposition is that a wall extended around 
the whole city, but it is doubtful ; 'tis more likely that Orange 
Street may have been barricaded by logs and earth ; never- 
theless, we will quote what the Whitney Pathfinder thinks 
about the 



* Fairbanks's History and Antiquities of St. Augustine. 



38 bloomfield's historical guide. 

TOWN WALL. 

Whether this wall was composed of the same material as 
the old fort, or was merely a rough stockade of pine logs, is 
a matter of conjecture. If a stone wall ever existed, it 
probably now forms a part of some of the old structures in 
the city. However, this wall or stockade is supposed to 
have been built some two hundred years ago. The north 
end portion of this wall was situated on the south bank of the 
ditch, and extended west to the St. Sebastian River, where 
it ended in a bastion, of which at present time, with the ex- 
ception of the sand elevation, no trace remains. 

The ditch, at the present day, is quite visible, and at one 
time it connected the moat-water around the fort with the 
St. Sebastian River ; but during the late war all evidence of 
this connection was destroyed by the construction of the 
northwest fort embankment. 

In 1 87 1, there existed on the corner of Tolomato and 
King Streets, a lunette, constructed of coquina stone, from 
twelve to fifteen feet high, and though it was to visitors an 
object of attraction nearly equal to that of the City Gates, it 
was removed for personal benefit and chronicled as a city 
improvement. 

We will now take the reader to that grand old structure, 

PORT MARION. 

Standing at the northeastern end of the town, its site was 
most excellently chosen for the protection of the city in those 
days, being that its guns command the whole harbor and 
inlet from the sea, as also the whole peninsula, to the south, 
north, and west, upon which St. Augustine is built. It is 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 



39 



considered a fine specimen of military architecture, having 



r li.ir W 




been constructed on the principles laid down by the famous 
engineer Vauban. 



40 BLOOMFIELD S HISTORICAL GUIDE, 

The walls arc twenty-one feet high, with bastions at each 
corner ; the whole structure being in the form of a trapezium, 
and inclosing an area about sixty yards square. It was 
begun in 1696 and completed in 1756, being the oldest 
fortification in the United States. Its first name was " San 
Juan de Pinos," afterwards changed to " San Marco," and 
upon the change of flags in 1821 to its present name. In 
1879, ^ petition was sent to Congress to change the name of 
the old fort to " San Marco," which sounds much more roman- 
tic than " Marion ; " but this was refused ; the reason being that 
all our forts are named after some great general, and they 
could make no exception in this case. The fort is built of 
coquina. The Appalachian Indians were employed upon it 
for more than sixty years, and to their efforts are probably due 
the immense labor in the construction of the ditch, the ram- 
parts, the glacis, and the approaches. It undoubtedly required 
many hundred persons for many years to procure and cut 
the stone from the quarries of Anastasia Island. During the 
works of extension and repairs effected by Monteano, previ- 
ous to the siege by Oglethorpe, he employed upon it one 
hundred and forty Mexican convicts. It is hard to say how 
much money it took to build the fort ; 'tis said that the King 
of Spain, in one of his letters to the Governor of St. Augus- 
tine, had written that '' it almost cost its weight in gold, and 
that a few such forts would ruin his kingdom." 

The fort occupies about four acres of ground, and mounts 
one hundred guns, requiring a garrison of one thousand 
men ; although larger numbers have, on several occasions, 
been stationed within its walls. The main entrance was by 
a drawbridge.* Over the doorway of the entrance is sculp- 



^ Now removed, a stationary one taking its place. 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 4I 

tured, on a block of stone, the Spanish coat of arms, sur- 
mounted by the globe and cross, with a Maltese cross and 
lamb beneath. 

Immediately under the arms is this inscription : 

RKYNANDO EN ESPANA EL SENN DON FERNANDO SEXTO Y SIENDO GOVR Y 
CAPN DE ESA CD SAN AUQN DE LA FLORIDA Y SUS PROVA EL MARISCAL DE 
CAMPO DN ALONSO FERNDO HERADA ASI CONCLUIO ESTE CASTILLO EL AN 
OD 1756 DRIENDO LAS OBRAS EL CAP. INGNRO DN PEDRO DE BROZAS Y 
GARAY. 

TRANSLATION. 

Don Ferdinand the VI, being King of Spain, and the Field Marshal Don 
Alonzo Fernando Hereda, being Governor and Captain General of this place, 
St. Augustine of Florida, and its province, this Foit vi^as finished in the year 
I75'6. The works were directed by the Captain Engineer, Don Pedro de 
Brozas y Garay, 

On entering you find yourself in the court or parade- 
ground, one hundred feet square. Inside there are twenty- 
seven casemates, thirty-five feet long and eighteen feet wide. 
In former times, during the Indian wars, and in cases of at- 
tack by sea, the citizens would flock to this stronghold, and 
take up their abode in these bomb-proofs. The casemate in 
front of the sally-port has on each side, as you enter it, a niche 
that was used for holy water vessels, and at the end is an altar; 
above the altar is a niche, where was at one time an image of 
some saint or martyr of the early Church. This was the chapel 
where service was held. In another bomb-proof is a raised 
platform; this is supposed to have been the judgment hall, 
where court-martial was held. In a neighboring casemate 
is an opening, which was cut for the purpose of discovering 
an underground passage, which was supposed to connect the 



42 BLOOMFIELDS HISTORICAL GUIDE. 

Cathedral and the fort. Under the northeast bastion we find 
a dark, gloomy dungeon, twenty feet long, six feet wide, and 
nearly five feet high, where not a ray of light can penetrate. 
This was once built up, and cut off from all communication 
with the rest of the fort. 

In 1836 the terreplein of the northwest bastion fell in, re- 
vealing a dark and dismal dungeon. We have heard from 
the lips of a reliable person, still a resident of St. Augustine, 
and who was present at the time of the above accident to 
the fort, of the following facts : " I stood upon the edge and 
looked down into this dungeon, and there saw the complete 
skeleton of a human being, lying at full length, apparently 
on its back ; the arms were extended from the body and the 
skeleton fingers were wide open ; there appeared to be a 
gold ring upon one of the fingers. Encircling the wrists 
were iron bands, attached to which were chains fastened to 
a hasp in the coquina wall, near the entrance to the dun- 
geon." 

The military engineer having charge of the repairs of the 
fort and sea-wall, descended into this dungeon, when his 
curiosity was excited by the discovery, to the northeast, of 
a broad stone,- differing greatly in dimensions and appear- 
ance from those of which the wall was built. He noticed, 
moreover, that the cement which held this stone in its place 
differed in composition and appeared to be more recent. 
On the removal of this stone, the present dark and dismal 
dungeon was disclosed. On entering with lights there were 
found at the west end, two iron cages suspended from hasps 
in the wall. One of the cages had partially fallen down 
from rust and decay, and human bones lay scattered on the 
floor. The other remained in its position, holding a pile of 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 43. 

human bones. The latter cage and contents may be seen 
in the Smithsonian Institute at Washington. 

This stone was removed by the assistance of Mr. John 
Capo (now deceased), an honest old harbor pilot and mason ; 
we have his statement, made personally to us, confirming 
the finding of the two cages containing the skeletons, as pre- 
sented in this sketch. 

From a lecture delivered at the fort by J. Hume Simons, 
M.D., and afterward published in the Florida Press, we 
quote : 

" The broken cage, with all the bones, except those which 
I hold in my hand, were buried in the sand-mound to the 
north of the fort. I recognize these as portions of the tibia 
and fibula (or leg bones) of a female."* 

The following letter and item we quote from Edwards's 
Guide of East Florida : 

" The story of the finding of iron cages inclosing human 
skeletons must lose its horrible interest when the following 
letter is read. It is an answer to one of mine of inquiry on 
the subject." 

Smithsonian Institute. 

John L. Edwards, Jacksonville, Florida. 

Sir : In reply to your letter of July 20th, we have to say that no objects 
such as those said to have been found in the dungeon of the old fort at St. 
Augustine have ever been received by us, although we are aware that the 
impression is otherwise. Truly yours, etc., 

Joseph Henry, 

Secretary Smithsonian Institute. 

The following we quote from Dewhurst's excellent His- 
tory of St, Augustine, which is undoubtedly the true story 
of the cages and skeletons. 

■^ Whitney's Pathfinder. 



44 BLOOMFIELD'S HISTORICAL GUIDE. 

" At the time the Americans took possession of the fort, 
they found the last casemate, fronting on the court, on the 
east side, filled with the coquina floor of the terreplein, which 
had fallen in, as the timbers supporting it had rotted. Nat- 
urally this half-filled casemate had become the place of de- 
posit for all rubbish accumulated upon any part of the works. 
In the course of repairs, the rubbish was cleared out of the 
casemate, and the entrance into the adjoining cell exposed. 
Entering this cell, and examining the masonry for antici- 
pated repairs, the engineer in charge, said to be Lieutenant 
Tuttle, U. S. A., discovered a newness of appearance about 
a small portion of the masonry of tne north wall. Under 
his instruction a mason cut out this newer stonework, and 
found that the small arch under which those who now enter 

the * dungeon ' crawl, had been walled up Near the 

entrance were the remains of a fire, the ashes and bits of 
pine wood burned off toward the centre of the pile in which 
they had been consumed. Upon the side of the cell was a 
rusty staple, with about three links of chain attached thereto. 
Near the wall on the west side of the cell were a few bones. 
Finding these very rotten, and crumbling to pieces under 
his touch, the engineer spread his handkerchief upon the 
floor, and brushed very gently the few fragments of bones 
into it. These were shown to the surgeon then stationed at 
the post, who said they might be human bones, but were so 
badly crumbled and decayed he could not determine defi- 
nitely. Nothing else was found in the cell.* 

"The iron cages which have been described as a part of the 

* The finding of any bones is denied by Major W. H. Benham, U. S. A., 
on the authority of a Mr. Ridgely, Lieutenant Tuttle's overseer. Major Ben- 
ham took charge of the work upon the fort in January, 1 839. 



ST, AUGUSTINE. 45 

fixtures of this terrible dungeon, and which, it has been said, 
contained human bones, appear upon the testimony of old 
inhabitants, to have been found outside the City Gates en- 
tirely empty. . . . The cages are described as having had 
much the shape of a coffin; and the tradition is that a human 
being had been placed in each, the solid bands of iron riveted 
about his body, and after life had been extinguished by the 
horrible torture of starvation, cages and corpses had been 
buried in the ' scrub,' then covering the ground north of 
the gates. 

" Doubtless these cages were used for the punishment of 
criminals condemned for some heinous crime; but whether 
they were introduced by the Spanish or English is un- 
known." 

You have now perused Dewhurst's and Whitney's cage 
stories. The following has been related by an old citizen, who 
distinctly remembers that when a child, of from eleven to 
thirteen years old, there was a tree situated just inside and 
close to the City Gates, from which was suspended an iron 
cage; 'twas just high enough for a man to kneel or lie in. 
This cage contained a man, and suspended above him, just 
beyond his reach, was a glass of water and a piece of brea.d, 
to make the pangs of hunger, from which he suffered, more 
keen. At the expiration of a few days, his tortures had 
made him a maniac, and his shrieks, that pierced the air, 
were something horrible. The person who related the tale 
is ninety-one years old, which makes this event to have 
happened about eighty years ago, during Spanish rule in 
St. Augustine. 

The southwest casemate near the well is the one from 



46 pt.oomfield's historical guide. 

which Coa-cou-che, the distinguished Seminole chieftain, 
made his notable escape in the first Seminole war. This 
Indian, also called " Wild Cat," was the youngest son of 
Philip, a great chief among the Seminoles. He was a man 
of great courage, of an adventurous disposition and savage 
nature, lacking the intellectual abilities of Osceola, but pos- 
sessing great influence among his nation. Like most of the 
young chiefs he was bitterly opposed to the execution of the 
treaty signed by the older chiefs, by which the Seminoles 
agreed to remove west of the Mississippi. At an interview 
immediately before the breaking out of hostilities, Colonel 
Harney observed to him that unless the Seminoles removed 
according to the treaty the whites would exterminate them. 
To this Coa-cou-che replied that Iste-chatte (the Indian) 
did not understand that word. The Great Spirit, he knew, 
might exterminate them, but the pale-faces could not, else, 
why had they not done it before ? During the war the 
young chief was captured and placed under guard in Fort 
Marion. It is reported that he was first confined in one of 
the close cells, and in order to be removed to a casemate, 
which had an embrasure through which he had planned to 
escape, he complained of the dampness in the cell and feigned 
sickness. There were at that time quite a number of In- 
dians confined in the fort, and unless they showed themselves 
querulous and dangerous they were allowed the freedom of 
the court during the day, and confined at night in the sev- 
eral casemates. It is probable that Coa-cou-che chose the 
casemate in the southwest bastion, from which to make his 
escape, because of a platform which is in the casemate. This 
platform is raised some five feet from the floor and built of 
masonry, directly under the embrasure through which he 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 47 

escaped. This opening had been constructed high up in 
the outer wall of the casemate, to admit light and air. It is 
thirteen feet above the floor, and eight feet above the plat- 
form, which had probably been constructed for the conve- 
nience of the judges, who doubtless used this casemate for 
a judgment-room. The aperture is about two feet high by 
nine inches wide, and some eighteen feet above the level of 
the ground, at the foot of the wall within the moat. It is 
said that as he took his airing upon the terreplein, the even- 
ing before his escape, Coa-cou-che lingered longer than 
usual, gazing far out into the west as the sun went down, 
probably thinking that ere another sunset he would be be- 
yond the limit of his farthest vision, enjoying the freedom 
of his native forests. 

That night he squeezed his body, said to have been atten- 
uated by voluntary abstinence from food, through the embra- 
sure in the wall, and silently dropped into the moat at the foot 
of the bastion. The moat was dry, and the station of every 
guard well known to the Indian, so that escape was no longer 
difficult. Coa-cou-che immediately joined his nation, but 
was afterwards captured and sent West. He was recalled 
by General Worth, and used to secure the submission of his 
tribe. General Worth declared to him, that if his people 
were not at Tampa on a certain day, he would hang from 
the yard of the vessel on which he had returned and was 
then confined. This message he was ordered to send to his 
people by Indian runners, furnished by the General. He 
was directed to deliver to the messengers twenty twigs, one 
for each day, and to make it known to his people that when 
the last twig in the hands of the messengers was broken, 
so would the cords which bound his life be snapped asunder, 



48 bloomfield's historical guide. 

unless they were all at the General's camp, prepared to de- 
part to the reservation provided for them at the West. The 
struggle in the mind of Coa-cou-che was severe, but his 
love for life was strong. He sent by the messengers his en- 
treaties that his people should appear at the time and place 
designated, and take up their abode in the prairies of the 
West. Desiring to impress upon his people that this was 
the will of the Great Spirit, with consummate policy he di- 
rected the messengers to relate to them this, — Coa-cou- 
che's dream :* 

" The day and manner of my death are given out, so that 
whatever I may encounter I fear nothing. The spirits of the 
Seminoles protect me, and the spirit of my twin sister, who 
died many years ago, watches over me ; when I am laid in 
the earth I shall go to live with her. She died suddenly. 
I was out hunting, and when seated by my campfire alone, 
I heard a strange voice, — a voice that told me to go to her. 
The camp was some distance off, but I took my wife and 
started. The night was dark and gloomy ; the wolves howled 
about me. I went from hammock to hammock ; sounds came 
oftener to my ear. I thought she was speaking to me. At 
daylight I reached the camp, but she was dead. I sat down 
alone, under the long gray moss of the trees, when I heard 
strange sounds again. I felt myself moving, and went along 
into a new country, where all was bright and beautiful. I 
saw clear water, ponds, rivers and prairies, upon which the 
sun never set. All was green; the grass grew high, and the 
deer stood in the midst looking at me. I then saw a small 
white cloud approaching, and when just before me, out of 

* Dewhurst's St. Augustine. 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 49 

it came my twin- sister, dressed in v/hite, and covered with 
bright silver ornaments. Her long black hair, which I had 
often braided, fell down upon her back; she clasped me 
around the neck, and said, ' Coa-cou-che ! Coa-cou-che !' 
I shook with fear. I knew her voice, but could not speak. 
With one hand she gave me a string of white beads, in the 
other she held a cup sparkling with pure water; as I drank 
she sang the peace song of the Seminoles, and danced around 
me ; she had silver bells around her feet, which made a loud 
sweet noise. Taking from her bosom something she laid it 
before me, when a bright blaze streamed above us ; she took 
me by the hand and said, 'All is peace.' I wanted to ask 
for others, but she shook her head, stepped into the cloud, 
and was gone. All was silent. I felt myself sinking until 
I reached the ground, where I met my brother Chilka."* 

Coa-cou-che's appeal was successful. . The messengers 
returned with the whole remnant of the tribe, three days 
before the expiration of the time. They all embarked, and 
took up their residence on the prairies, "where the sun never 
sets and the grass grows high." It was not a field in which 
Coa-cou-che could distinguish himself, and from this time 
his name was never heard, except in connection with his 
past exploits in Florida. 

We will now continue our way through the fort. Ascend- 
ing a broad stairway of two flights, we reach the top or 
parapet of the fort, from which can be obtained a superb 
view of the channel and ocean beyond. On this battlement 
was formerly mounted heavy guns. On the corner of each 
bastion there was a circular tower; one of these has recently 

* Sprague's History of the Seminole War. 
4 



50 BLOOMFIELD S HISTORICAL GUIDE. 

fallen. On the northern portion of the parapet stood a 
wooden building, now removed, in which the Indians were 
confined. These Indians, of the Comanche, Cheyenne, 
Arapahoe, and Kiowa tribes, who having been selected as 
among the worst specimens of the wild, cruel savages of 
the far West, were brought here in May, 1875, from Fort 
Sill ; among them were several noted chiefs. They came 
in charge of Captain R. H. Pratt, through whose kind treat- 
ment, combined with the aid of several charitable ladies, 
what were when they came here the most savage of their 
'kind, left here in 1878, thoroughly civilized, and many of 
them able to read and write. The letter which we quote 
from Edwards's Gtdde of East Florida explains what became 
of them. 

Office of Assistant Quartermaster, 

St. Augustine, Florida, September 27th, 1880. 

Mr, John L. Edwards, Jacksonville, Fla. 

Sir: The commanding officer has directed me to acknowledge receipt of 
your note of the 21st instant, and to say in answer thereto that "Medicine 
"Water" and all other Indians at one time confined in Fort Marion, were re- 
leased by order of the War Department in May, 1878, and turned over to the 
Interior Department, by which the older ones were sent to Fort Sill, Indian 
Territory. The younger ones were sent to the " Hampton Normal Institute," 
Hampton, Virginia, to be educated and taught different trades, which proved 
to be a very successful experiment. All but seven of the Indians outlived 
their confinement, and left here in perfect health. 

Very respectfully, 

James R. McAuliff, 

2d Lieut. 5th Art'y, Post Adjutant. 
\ 

The fort sustained a heavy bombardment from the batte- 
ries erected on Anastasia Island, by General Oglethorpe, in 
1740, but received no injury beyond a few scars on its sea- 
front, the marks of which are yet visible. When Sir Fran- 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 



51 



cis Drake made h's attack on the town in 1586, the present 
site of the fort was covered with a wooden entrenchment, 
and known by the name of Fort St. John. It was perfectly- 
deserted when Drake approached. Fourteen brass pieces 
were found mounted on the platforms. An iron-bound chest, 
containing about i^2000, which was intended for payment to 
the men who garrisoned the fort, was taken by Drake. At 
this period the town was built of wood, one-half of which 
was burned by Drake. 

Fig. 6. 




FOBT BIAKION AT ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA. 

In 1665, when Captain Davis, the English pirate, plun- 
dered St. Augustine, the fort was constructed of wood, oc- 
tagonal in shape. 1702 seems to have been the time when 
the name of St. Mark's was applied to the fort. 

History says, that on the arrival of Menendez, in 1565, 
he immediately constructed a wooden fort, no doubt on the 
present site. The moat is protected from the sea by a 
stanch battery, about fifteen feet wide and ten feet high at 
low tide, which forms a fine promenade, connected with the 



52 



BLOOMFIELDS HISTORICAL GUIDE. 



SEA WALL, 
Which is the next object of interest. This was originally 
a Spanish structure, the first wall having been built in 1690, 
extending to the Plaza ; but was rebuilt in 1837, and was six 
years in building, and cost one hundred thousand dollars. 
It extends from the fort on the Matanzas River to the United 
States Barracks south, and is about one mile in length. It 
is ten feet above low-water mark, seven feet at the base, and 
three feet wide on the top, capped with granite. It forms a 
fine promenade, just wide enough for two persons to walk 
abreast, and is a favorite resort for lovers or those who are 
sentimentally inclined. Near the Plaza and the Barracks 
the wall is recessed, and forms a basin, where the fishermen 
bring in their boats, and also for a protection to boats dur- 
ing gales. 

ANASTASIA ISLAND, 
Which has been mentioned quite a number of times during 
the recital, is well worthy to have a conspicuous place in the 
history of St. Augustine, having been more than once the 
scene of bloodshed and strife. The island is the natural 
breakwater of St. Augustine, is eighteen miles long and 
averages about half a mile in width. 

In 1586, Sir Francis Drake disembarked at the north end 
of the island, crossed the harbor, and pillaged the town. 
General Oglethorpe, in 1740, disembarked at the point op- 
posite Fort Marion. Here he threw up a sand battery, of 
which a trace remains at the present day. In 1760, there 
existed on the northeast point of the island a coquina bat- 
tery, which the encroachment of the sea has entirely de- 
stroyed. " The old Spanish lighthouse stood on the north- 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 53 

east side of the island ; on Sunday, June 20th, 1880, a storm 
washed it away, the water having undermined it, and noth- 
ing but the ruins of this interesting old landmark remain. 
When the old lighthouse was built, we have been unable to 
discover. Under Governor Grant it was raised by a timber 
construction, and had a cannon planted on it, which was 
fired as soon as the flag was hoisted to notify the inhabitants 
and pilots that a vessel was approaching. It had two flag- 
staffs, one to the north and one to the south, on either of 
which the flag was hoisted as the vessel was approaching 
from the north or south. It is possible that the old light- 
house was constructed in 1693, with the proceeds of ^6000 
appropriated by the Council of the Indies for building a tower 
as a lookout. The Spaniards kept a detachment of troops 
stationed there, and the town and adjoining chapel were in- 
closed with a high and thick stone wall, pierced with loop- 
holes, and having a salient angle to protect the gate."* 

About one hundred yards from the ruin of the old, stands 
the new lighthouse, a noble structure and one of the finest 
on the Atlantic coast. Tis worth a visit to the island to see 
this splendid building ; it is one hundred and sixty-four feet 
high ; its cost was over one hundred thousand dollars, of 
which the lantern alone cost sixteen thousand. It was 
erected in 1873. A short distance south are the famous coquina 
quarries, of which the fort, city gates, and ancient houses are 
built. The stranger upon first seeing the coquina thinks 'tis 
artificially formed ; 'tis formed over the whole island, by the 
action of the sea-water on the sand and shells. 'Tis now 
but seldom used for building purposes, as it is inclined to 



* Dewhurst's St. Augustine. 



54 



BLOOMFIELD S HISTORICAL GUIDE. 



hold moisture. 'Tis an excellent stone for foundation and is 
utilized for that purpose. Anastasia Island on the east is 
bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, west by Matanzas River, 
which flows south about eighteen miles and empties into the 
ocean. The inlet at Matanzas, by which name the southern 

Fig. 7. 




FORT MATANZAS. 



end of the island is known, has still standing the ruins of 
the structure known as Fort Matanzas. From all accounts, 
the same was built by the Spaniards directly after the bom- 
bardment of Oglethorpe. We quote the following from 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 55 

Romans's Floiida: "Twenty miles south of St. Augustine is 
the lookout, or Fort of Matanzas, on a marshy island, com- 
manding the entrance of Matanzas, which lies opposite to it. 
This fort is to be seen at about the distance of five leagues. 
It is of very little strength, nor need it be otherwise, as there 
is scarce eight feet of water on this bar at the best of times. 
The Spaniards kept a lieutenant in command here ; the Eng- 
lish a sergeant." Matanzas is very sparsely settled ; in the 
season there is one hotel open. 'Tis a favorite place for those 
who enjoy fishing, as this sport is carried on most successfully 
there. With a fair wind and tide, Matanzas can be reached 
from St. Augustine in about three hours. 

ORANGE GROVES, ROSE GARDENS, ETC. 

St. Augustine has a number of very fine groves, in which 
are cultivated numerous kinds of tropical fruits, such as figs, 
Japan plums, bananas, dates, pomegranates, guava, lime, 
lemon, grape fruit, and many others. The finest orange 
grove is that of Dr. Anderson, who has about fifteen hundred 
fine bearing trees ; this grove is situated on King Street ; the 
entrance is on the right-hand side going towards the depot. 
From this there is a communicating gate leading to the fine 
grove belonging to Mrs. Ball. Though not having so many 
trees, 'tis very much admired by visitors, on account of the 
grounds, which are beautifully laid out, a promenade through 
the grand orange arches being very enjoyable, while a stroll 
through " Lover's Lane " to " Proposing Point " should be 
made by all followers of the god Cupid. We venture to re- 
mark, that the romance of these beautiful surroundings has 
brought gladness to the hearts of many a fair maiden and 
gentle swain. 



56 bloomfield's historical guide. 

St. Augustine is famous for its beautiful roses. The rose 
garden of Mrs. Reynolds is situated just in the rear of the 
Colored Home on Bronson Street. Cut flowers of all kinds 
can be obtained there at all times. The flower-gardens of 
Mr. H. H. Williams are very attractively situated on the 
Shell Road. Mr. Williams is an excellent florist, and shows 
great skill and taste in arranging bouquets. About half a 
mile north of this are the grounds of Mr. Hildreth, where an 
excellent assortment of Florida grasses can be seen ; to reach 
these places a lovely ride of about twenty minutes can be 
taken. The famous rose tree of Mr. Olivero can be seen at 
his place on St. George Street near the City Gates. The tree 
is fifteen feet high, and twenty-one inches in circumference. 
There are numerous other places where beautiful flowers are 
cultivated ; in fact nearly every private garden can boast of 
its beautiful plants. 

NEW ST. AUGUSTINE 
Is situated west of the San Sebastian River. It has a num- 
ber of neat cottages, among the most pretentious of which 
is the elegant residence of Mr. G. Van Dorn. Mr. Bevan 
is also commodiously quartered in his neat cottage, sur- 
rounded by a lovely orange grove, which contains other rare 
and tropical fruits. New St. Augustine is having a boom, 
and we predict for it a bright future. 

RAVENSWOOD. 

The visitor having left the depot, passes over the causeway 
and bridge which lead to St. Augustine. 

From the bridge looking north, on the left, will be observed 
the recently erected dwelling of John F. Whitney, Esq., the 
proprietor of the new projected settlement of Ravenswood. 



ST. AUGUSTINE, 57 

This is the pioneer residence located upon this tract of over 
one thousand acres. From its close proximity to St. Augus- 
tine, and its sloping, dry, and healthful position, it promises 
soon to become a favorite location for Northerners desirous 
of building-sites and orange groves in the immediate neigh- 
borhood of the ancient city. 

THE YACHT CLUB 

Is one oithe institutions of St. Augustine, the majority of 
its membership being composed of wealthy Northerners who 
spend their winters here. The club-house is pleasantly situ- 
ated on the bay diagonally opposite the Plaza. The interior 
is richly furnished, and nothing is left undone that would 
promote the comfort of the members and their guests. 
The gala days held here every March, under the auspices of 
the club, are considered the great event of the season. 

Nothing can be more picturesque or fairy-like than their 
illumination night, when every yacht on the bay is gayly lit 
with many-colored lanterns. At the receptions of the Yacht 
Club are represented some of America's fairest daughters 
and bravest sons, and they are undoubtedly the most 
recherche events of the season. 

HANDSOME WINTER RESIDENCES. 
Among the many advancements St. Augustine has made 
in the last ten years is the number of elegant winter resi- 
dences that have been built, of which the old town has every 
reason to be proud. On St. George Street, near St. Francis, 
stands the lovely cottage of Mr. J. L. Wilson, of Framing- 
ham, Mass. On the corner of St. George and Bridge streets 
is the winter residence of Mr. R. D. Bronson, of New York. 
The residence of Mr. A. J. Alexander, of Kentucky, standson 



58 bloomfield's historical guide. 

the northeast corner of St George and Bridge streets; directly 
opposite are the fine grounds and residence of Mr. J. P. How- 
ard, of New York; on thesame side of the street, about half a 
square north, can be seen the residence of Holmes Ammi- 
down, Esq., of New York, whose grounds are a marvel of 
loveliness, and greatly admired by all. On the corner of 
King and St. George streets is the winter residence of Colonel 
Tyler. The profusion of rare plants, and especially the fine 
specimen of the date, render this garden a very attractive spot. 
On St. George Street, north of the Plaza, the first fine building 
that greets the eye is the elegant and massive structure of the 
Right Reverend Bishop Moore, Bishop of Florida ; this is 
undoubtedly the most solid piece of modern architecture in 
the city. On the east side of St. George, between Cuna and 
St. Hypolita streets, is the beautiful villa of George Lorillard, 
Esq., of New York ; 'tis quite an ornament to the city. Out- 
side the City Gates, on the west side, is the fine residence of 
H. P. Kingsland, Esq., of New York; this residence has a 
fine orange grove attached to it. Coming from the depot, 
on King Street, directly under where the pride of India trees 
spread their branches, is the commodious residence of Mr. 
Gilbert. Immediately opposite is Dr. A. Anderson's resi- 
dence, who is also the fortunate possessor of the finest orange 
grove in the city. The entrance to Mrs. Ball's residence is on 
Tolomato Street, and is one of the finest constructed houses 
in the State. On the bay facing the Sea-wall at the corner of 
Treasury Street, is the handsome coquina residence of Mr. D. 
Edgar, of New York. South of the Plaza stands the resi- 
dence of Mr. Aspinwall, of New York, and just below is the 
residence of Miss Worth, daughter of General Worth, of 
Mexican War fame. 



ST, AUGUSTINE. , 59 

BATHING, YACHTING, PISHING, AND HUNTING. 

In summer, a short sail to the beach, and you can enjoy 
the most deHghtful kind of surf bathing. In winter, at the 
bath-house on the bay, sea bathing can be enjoyed, either hot 
or cold, a luxury with which no other place in Florida can 
accommodate you. The yachting facilities are unsurpassed, 
and many points of interest can thus be visited. Among 
them is a trip to North Beach, or Point Quartell, as it was 
formerly called, where shells and sea-beans can be picked 
up quite plentifully after a heavy gale. Then a trip to the 
South Beach or Bird's Island, or a visit to Fish's Island, a 
lovely spot, covered with fine oaks and orange arches, a de- 
lightful place for a picnic. Sail-boats can be hired by the 
hour or day. The steam yacht Maggie also plies regularly 
between the North and South beaches. The captains of the 
various boats are all reliable and experienced sailors, and 
no fear need be entertained as to their ability to manage 
their |boats. The fishing-grounds around St. Augustine are 
too numerous to itemize. You can enjoy various kinds of fish- 
ing here, — bass, drum, sheepshead, shark, catfish, etc. Good 
hunting can be enjoyed a few miles out of town, game of 
all kinds being abundant. Generally it is necessary to have 
a guide on these expeditions. Several good guides can be 
obtained in St. Augustine. St. Augustine is also noted for 
its fine salt-water oysters, clams, stone-crabs, and green tur- 
tles. 

COUNTRY DRIVES. 

There are some very fine drives in and about the city, 
among which are the following : 

1. Magnolia Grove. 

2. Red House Branch. 



6o bloomfield's historical guide. 

3. Hildreth's Farm. 

4. Gibbs's Farm. 

5. Century Oak. 

6. Ponce de Leon Spring. 

7. Hanson Grove. 

8. King's Road. 

9. Bridge of Sighs. 
10. Long Swamp. 

All within five miles of the city. Any driver can direct 
you to these places. 

HOTELS AND BOARDING-HOUSES. 

St. Augustine Hotel, $4 per day, accommodates 300, 
Florida House, $4 per day, accommodates 225. 
Magnolia Hotel, $4 per day, accommodates 250. 

BOARDING-HOUSES. 

The following are private houses, whose terms you can 
better obtain on application in person or by postal commu- 
nication. 

Miss Hazeltine, Mrs. J. V. Hernandez, Colonel Tyler, 
Mrs. Winslow, Mrs. De Medicis, Mrs. Nelligan, Mrs. Fra- 
zier, Mrs. Edwards, Mr. George Greeno, Mrs. Foster, and 
Mrs. Byrnes ; besides which there are two restaurants, and 
numerous rooms and cottages, that can be rented by day, 
week, month, or season. 

HISTORY OP THE MINORCANS. 

The following interesting article I quote from Dewhurst's 
History of Si. Augustine : 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 6 1 

" The proclamation of Governor Grant, and the accounts 
which had gone abroad of the advantages of the province, 
and the liberal policy adopted by the British in the treat- 
ment of colonists, induced some wealthy planters from 
the Carolinas to remove to Florida, and several noblemen 
of England also solicited grants of land in the province. 
Among the noblemen who secured grants of land in Florida 
v/ere Lords Hawke, Egmont, Grenville and Hillsborough, 
Sir William Duncan and Dennys RoUe, the father of Lord 
RoUe. Sir William Duncan was a partner with Dr. Turnbull 
in importing a large number of Europeans for the cultiva- 
tion of their lands south of St, Augustine, on the Halifax 
River. The persons whom these two gentlemen then induced 
to come to Florida are the ancestors of a large majority of 
the resident population of St. Augustine at the present day. 
In the early accounts of the place I am satisfied that gross 
injustice was done to these people in a reckless condemna- 
tion of the whole community. I have myself heard their 
descendants unreasonably censured and their characters 
severely criticised. These unfavorable opinions were doubt- 
less generated by the unfortunate position in which these 
immigrants found themselves. Friendless in a strange land, 
speaking a different language from the remainder of the in- 
habitants, and of a different religious belief, it was but natu- 
ral that they should mingle but little with the English resi- 
dents, especially after they had experienced such unjust 
treatment at the hands of one of the most influential of the 
principal men in the colony. The reader will understand 
the position of these Minorcans and Greeks, and the feelings 
they must have entertained toward the great men of the 
colony after reading Romans's account of the hardships they 



62 bloomfield's historical guide. 

were forced to undergo, and the difficulty they had in break- 
ing their onerous contract. Romans says : * The situation 
of the town or settlement made by Dr. Turnbull is called 
New Smyrna, from the place of the doctor's lady's nativity. 
About fifteen hundred people, men, women, and children, were 
deluded away from their native country, where they lived at 
home in the plentiful cornfields and vineyards of Greece and 
Italy, to this place, where, instead of plenty, they found want 
in the last degree ; instead of promised fields a dreary wil- 
derness ; instead of a grateful, fertile soil, a barren, arid sand, 
and in addition to their misery were obliged to indent them- 
selves, their wives and children, for many years, to a man who 
had the most sanguine expectations of transplanting bash- 
awship from the Levant. The better to effect his purpose 
he granted them a pitiful portion of land for ten years upon 
the plan of the feudal system. This being improved and 
just rendered fit for cultivation, at the end of that term it 
again reverted to the original grantor, and the grantee may, 
if he chooses, begin a new state of vassalage for ten years 
more. Many were denied even such grants as these, and 
were obliged to work at tasks in the field. Their provisions 
were, at the best of times, only a quart of maize per day, 
and two ounces of pork per week. This might have suf- 
ficed with the help of fish, which abounded in this lagoon; 
but they were denied the liberty of fishing, and, lest they 
should not labor enough, inhuman taskmasters were set over 
them, and, instead of allowing each family to do with their 
homely fare as they pleased, they were forced to join alto- 
gether in one mess, and at the beat of a vile drum to come 
to one common copper, from whence their hominy was 
ladled out to them. Even this coarse and scanty meal was, 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 63 

through careless management, rendered still more coarse, 
and through the knavery of a providetor and the pilferings 
of a hungry cook, still more scanty. Masters of vessels 
were forewarned from giving any of them a piece of bread 
or meat. Imagine to yourself an African — one of a class 
of men whose hearts are generally callous against the softer 
feelings — melted with the wants of these wretches, giving 
them a piece of venison, of which he caught what he pleased, 
and for this charitable act disgraced, and in course of tim.e 
used so severely that the unusual servitude soon released 
him to a happier state. Again, behold a man obliged to 
whip his own wife for pilfering bread to relieve his helpless 
family ; then think of a time when the small allowance was 
reduced to half, and see some brave, generous seamen chari- 
tably sharing their own allowance with some of these 
wretches, the merciful tars suffering abuse for their gener- 
osity, and the miserable objects of their ill-timed pity under- 
going bodily punishment for satisfying the cravings of a 
long-disappointed appetite, and you may form some judg- 
ment of the manner in which New Smyrna was seftled. 
Before I leave this subject I will relate the insurrection to 
which those unhappy people at New Smyrna were obliged 
to have recourse, and which the great ones styled rebel- 
lion. 

"* In the year 1769, at a time when the unparalleled severi- 
ties of their taskmasters, particularly one Cutter (who had 
been made a justice of the peace, with no other view than to 
enable him to execute his barbarities on a larger extent and 
with greater appearance of authority), had drove wretches to 
despair, they resolved to escape to Havana. To execute 
this they broke into the provision stores and seized on some 



64 bloomfield's historical guide. 

craft lying in the harbor, but were prevented from taking 
others by the care of the masters. Destitute of any man fit 
for the important post of leader, their proceedings were all 
confused, and an Italian of very bad principles, but of so 
much note that he had formerly been admitted to the over- 
seer's table, assumed a kind of command, they thought them- 
selves secure where they were, and this occasioned a delay 
till a detachment of the Ninth Regiment had time to arrive, 
to whom they submitted, except one boatful, which escaped 
to the Florida Keys, and were taken up by a Providence man. 
Many were the victims destined to punishment; as I was one 
of the grand jury, which sat fifteen days on this business, I 
had an opportunity of canvassing it well, but the accusa- 
tions were of so small account that we found only five bills; 
one of these was against a man for maiming the abovesaid 
Cutter, whom it seems they had pitched upon as the princi- 
pal object of their resentment, and curtailed his ear and two 
of his fingers; another for shooting a cow, which, being a 
capital crime in England, the law making it such was here 
extended to this province; the others were against the 
leader, an4 two more for the burglary committed on the pro- 
vision store. The distress of the sufferers touched us so 
that we almost unanimously wished for some happy circum- 
stances that might justify our rejecting all the bills, except- 
ing that against the chief, who was a villain. One man was 
brought before us three or four times, and, at last, was joined 
in one accusation with the person who maimed Cutter ; yet, 
no evidence of weight appearing against him, I had an op- 
portunity to remark, by the appearance of some faces in 
court, that he had been marked, and that the grand jury dis- 
appointed the expectations of more than one great man. 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 65 

Governor Grant pardoned two, and a third was obliged to 
be the executioner of the remaining two. On this occasion 
I saw one of the most moving scenes I ever experienced; 
long and obstinate was the struggle of this man's mind, who 
repeatedly called out that he chose to die rather than be the 
executioner of his friends in distress ; this not a little per- 
plexed Mr. Woolridge, the sheriff, till at length the entreat- 
ies of the victims themselves put' an end to the conflict in 
his breast, by encouraging him how to act. Now we be- 
held a man thus compelled to mount the ladder, take leave 
of his friends in the most moving manner, kissing them the 
moment before he committed them to an ignominious death. 
Cutter some time after died a lingering death, having ex- 
perienced besides his wounds the terrors of a coward in 
power overtaken by vengeance.' 

" The original agreement made with the immigrants before 
leaving the Mediterranean, was much more favorable to 
them than Romans described it. At the end of three years 
each head of a family was to have fifty acres of land and 
twenty-five for each child of his family. This contract was 
not adhered to on the part of the proprietors, and it was not 
until, by the authority of the courts, they had secured their 
freedom from the exactions imposed upon them that any 
disposition was shown to deed them lands in severalty. 
After the suppression of this attempt to escape, these people 
continued to cultivate the lands as before, and large crops 
of indigo were produced by their labor. Meantime the 
hardships and injustice practiced against them continued, 
until in 1776, nine years from their landing in Florida, their 
number had been reduced by sickness, exposure, and cruel 
treatment from fourteen hundred to six hundred. At that 

5 



66 bloomfield's historical guide. 

time it happened that some gentlemen visiting New Smyrna 
from St. Augustine were heard to remark that if these peo- 
ple knew their rights they never would submit to such 
treatment, and that the governor ought to protect them. 
This remark was noted by an 'intelligent boy, who told it to 
his mother, upon whom jt made such an impression that 
she could not cease to think and plan how, in some way, 
their condition might be represented to the governor. 
Finally, she decided to call a council of the leading men 
among her people. They assembled soon after in the night, 
and devised a plan of reaching the governor. Three of the 
most resolute and competent of their number were selected 
to make the attempt to reach St. Augustine and lay before 
the governor a report of their condition. 

'* In order to account for their absence they asked to be 
given a long task, or an extra amount of work to be done 
in a specified time, and if they should complete the work in 
advance, the intervening time should be their own to go 
down the coast and catch turtle. This was granted them as 
a special favor. Having finished their task by the assistance 
of their friends so as to have several days at their disposal, 
the three brave men set out along the beach for St. Augus- 
tine. The names of these men, most worthy of remem- 
brance, were Pellicier, Llambias, and Genopley, Starting at 
night, they reached and swam Matanzas Inlet the next 
morning, and arrived at St. Augustine by sundown of the 
same day. After inquiry they decided to make a statement 
of their case to Mr. Young, the attorney-general of the prov- 
ince. No better man could have been selected to represent 
the cause of the oppressed. They made known to him their 
condition, the terms of their original contract, and the man- 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 69 

dants of those who settled at Smyrna have replaced these 
palmetto huts with comfortable cottages, and many among 
them have acquired considerable wealth, and taken rank 
among the most respected and successful citizens of the town. 

ST. AUGUSTINE IN 1817. 
The following are the impressions of an English visitor, 
in 1817: 

" Emerging from the solitudes and shades of the pine 
forests, we espied the distant, yet distinct, lights of the watch- 
towers of the fortress of St. Augustine, delightful beacons to 
my weary pilgrimage. The clock was striking ten as I 
reached the foot of the drawbridge ; the sentinels were pass- 
ing the a/erto as I demanded an entrance ; having answered 
the preliminary questions, the drawbridge was slowly lowered. 
The officer of the guard, having received my name and 
wishes, sent a communication to the governor, who issued 
orders for my immediate admission. On opening the gate 
the guard was ready to receive me, and a file of men, with 
their officer, escorted me to his Excellency, who expressed 
his satisfaction at my revisit to Florida. I soon retired to 
the luxury of repose, and the following morning was greeted 
as an old acquaintance by the members of this little com- 
munity. I had arrived at a season of general relaxation, on 
the eve of the Carnival, which is celebrated with much gayety 
in all Catholic countries. Masks, dominoes, harlequins, 
Punchinellos, and a great variety of grotesque disguises, on 
horseback, in cars, gigs, and on foot, paraded the streets 
with guitars, violins, and other instruments ; and in the even- 
ings, the houses were open to receive masks, and balls were 
given in every direction. I was told that in their better 



yO BLOOMFIELDS HISTORICAL GUIDE. 

days, when their pay was regularly remitted from the Havana, 
these amusements were admirably conducted, and the rich 
dresses exhibited on these occasions were not eclipsed by 
their more fashionable friends in Cuba ; but poverty had les- 
sened their spirit for enjoyment, as well as the means for 
procuring- it ; enough, however, remained to amuse an idle 
spectator, and I entered with alacrity into their diversions. 
About thirty o\ the hunting warriors of the Seminoles, with 
their squaws, had arrived, for the purpose of selling the pro- 
duce of the chase, consisting of bear, deer, tiger, and other 
skins, bear's grease, and other trifling articles. This savage 
race, once the lords of the ascendant, are the most formidable 
border enemies of the United States. This party had ar- 
rived, after a range of six months, for the purpose of sale 
and barter. After tratticking for their commodities, they 
were seen at various parts o'i the town, assembled in small 
groups, seated upon their haunches, like monkeys, passing 
around their bottles o{ aqua-dente [t\\Q rum of Cuba), their 
repeated draughts upon which soon exhausted their con- 
tents. They then slept off the effects of intoxication, under 
the wall, exposed to the influence of the sun. Their appear- 
ance was extremely wretched; their skins of a dark. dirty» 
chocolate color, with long, straight, black hair, o\cr which 
they had spread a quantity o^ bear's grease. In their ears, 
and the cartilages of the nose, were inserted rings of silver 
and brass, with pendants of various shapes. Their features 
prominent and harsh, and their eyes had a wild and fero- 
cious expression. A torn blanket, or an ill-fashioned dirty 
linen jacket, is the general costume of these Indians ; a 
triangular piece of cloth passes around the loins. The 
women var\* in their apparel by merely wearing short petti- 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 7 1 

coats, the original color of which were not distinguish- 
able from the various incrustations of dirt. Some of the 
young squaws were tolerably agreeable, and if well washed 
and dressed would not have been uninteresting; but the 
older squaws wore an air of misery and debasement. 

" The garrison is composed of a detachment from the 
Royal regiment of Cuba, with some black troops, who to- 
gether form a respectable force. The fort and bastions are 
built of the same material as the houses of the town, coquina. 
This marine substance is superior to stone, but being liable 
to splinter from the effects of bombardment ; it receives and 
imbeds the shot, which adds rather than detracts from its 
strength and security. 

" The houses and the rear of the town are intersected and 
covered with orange groves; their golden fruit and deep 
green foliage not only render the air agreeable, but beautify 
the appearance of this interesting little town ; in the centre 
of which (the square) rises a large structure dedicated to the 
Catholic religion. At the upper end are the remains of a 
very considerable house, the former residence of the gov- 
ernor of this settlement; but now, 1817, in a state of dilapi- 
dation and decay from age and inattention. 

" At the southern extremity of the town stands a large 
building, formerly a monastery of Carthusian Friars, but now 
occupied as a barrack for the troops of the garrison. At a 
little distance are four stacks of chimneys, the sole remains 
of a beautiful range of barracks, built during the occupancy 
of the British, from 1763 to 1783. For three years the 29th 
regiment was stationed there, and in that time they did not 
lose a single man. The proverbial salubrity of the climate 
has obtained for St. Augustine the designation of the Mont- 



72 BLOOMFIELD S HISTORICAL GUIDE. 

pellier of North America ; indeed, such is the general char- 
acter of the Province of East Florida. 

"The governor (Copinger) is about forty-five years of age, 
of active and vigorous mind, anxious to promote by every 
means in his power the prosperity of the province confided 
to his command. His urbanity and other amiable qualities 
render him accessible to the meanest individual, and justice 
is sure to follow an appeal to his decision. His military 
talents are well known, and appreciated by his sovereign ; 
and he now holds, in addition to the government of East 
Florida, the rank of colonel in the Royal regiment of Cuba. 

" The clergy consist of the padre (priest of the parish), Fa- 
ther Crosby, a native of Wexford, Ireland ; a Franciscan friar, 
the chaplain to the garrison, and an inferior or cure. The 
social qualities of the padre^ and the general tolerance of 
his feelings, render him an acceptable visitor to all his flock. 
The judge, treasurer, collector, and notary, are the principal 
officers of the establishment, besides a number of those de- 
voted solely to the military occupations of the garrison. 
The whole of this society is extremely courteous to stran- 
gers; they form one family, and those little jealousies and 
animosities, so disgraceful to our small English commu- 
nities, do not sully their meetings of friendly chit-chat, 
called as in Spain, tiirtidias. The women are deservedly 
celebrated for their charms ; their lovely black eyes have a 
vast deal of expression ; their complexions ^re a clear bru- 
nette ; much attention is paid to the arrangement of their 
hair; at mass they are always well dressed in black silk 
basquijias (petticoats), with the little mantUla (black lace 
veil) over their heads ; the men in their military costumes ; 
good order and temperance are their characteristic virtues; 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 73 

but the vice of gambling too often profanes their social 
haunts, from which even the fair sex are not excluded. Two 
days following our arrival, a ball was given by some of the 
inhabitants, to which I was invited. The elder couples 
opened it with minuets, succeeded by the younger couples 
displaying their handsome light figures in Spanish dances." 

ST. AUGUSTINE IN 1843— OLD SPANISH CUSTOMS.* 

** At length we emerged upon a shrubby plain, and finally 
came in sight of this oldest city of the United States, seated 
among its trees on a sandy swell of land, where it has stood 
for three hundred years. I was struck with its ancient and 
homely aspect, even at a distance, and could not help liken- 
ing it to pictures which I had seen of Dutch towns, though 
it wanted a wind-mill or two to make the resemblance per- 
fect. We drove into a green square, in the midst of which 
was a monument erected to commemorate the Spanish con- 
stitution of i8i2, and thence through the narrow streets of 
the city to our hotel. 

" I have called the streets narrow. In few places are they 
wide enough to allow two carriages to pass abreast. I was 
told that they were not originally intended for carriages, 
and that in the time when the town belonged to Spain, many 
of them were floored with an artificial stone, composed of 
shells and mortar, which in this climate takes and keeps the 
hardness of the rock ; and that no other vehicle than a hand- 
barrow was allowed to pass over them. In some places you 
see remnants of this ancient pavement ; but for the most 
part it has been ground into dust under the wheels of the 

^ Bryant. 



74 BLOOMFIELD S HISTORICAL GUIDE. 

carts and carriages introduced by the new inhabitants. The 
old houses, built of a kind of stone which is seemingly a 
pure concretion of small shells, overhang the streets with 
their wooden balconies ; and the gardens between the houses 
are fenced on the side of the street with high walls of stone. 
Peeping over these walls you see branches of the pome- 
granate, and of the orange-tree, now fragrant with flowers, 
and rising yet higher, the leaning boughs of the fig, with its 
broad luxuriant leaves. Occasionally you pass the ruins of 
houses, walls of stone with arches and staircases of the 
same material, which once belonged to stately dwellings. 
You meet in the streets with men of swarthy complexions 
and foreign physiognomy, and you hear them speaking to 
each other in a strange language. You are told that these 
are the remains of those who inhabited the country under 
the Spanish dominion, and that the dialect you have heard 
is that of the island of Minorca. 'Twelve years ago,' said 
an acquaintance of mine, ^when I first visited St. Augus- 
tine, it was a fine old Spanish town. A large proportion of 
the houses which you now see, roofed like barns, were then 
flat-roofed; they were all of shell-rock, and these modern 
wooden buildings were not then erected. That old fort 
which they are now repairing, to fit it for receiving a garri- 
son, was a sort of ruin, for the outworks had partly fallen, 
and it stood unoccupied by the military, a venerable monu- 
ment of the Spanish dominion. But the orange groves were 
the wealth and ornament of St. Augustine, and their pro- 
duce maintained the inhabitants in comfort. Orange trees 
of the size and height of the pear tree, often rising higher 
than the roofs of the houses, embowered the town in per- 
petual verdure. They stood so close in the groves that 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 75 

they excluded the sun, and the atmosphere was at all times 
aromatic with their leaves and fruit ; and in spring the fra- 
grance of the flowers was almost oppressive,' 

" The old fort of St Mark, now called Fort Marion — a 
foolish change of name — is a noble work, frowning over the 
Matanzas, which flows between St. Augustine and the island 
of Anastasia; and it is worth making a long journey to see. 
No record remains of its original construction, but it is sup- 
posed to have been erected about a hundred and fifty years 
since, and the shell-rock of which it is built is dark with 
time. We saw where it had been struck with cannon-balls, 
which, instead of splitting the rock, became imbedded and 
clogged among the loosened fragments of shell. This rock 
is, therefore, one of the best materials for fortifications in the 
world. We were taken into the ancient prisons of the fort 
dungeons, one of which was dimly lighted by a grated win- 
dow, and another entirely without light ; and by the flame 
of a torch we were shown the half-obliterated inscriptions 
scrawled on the walls, long ago, by prisoners. But in another 
corner of the fort we were taken to look at the secret cells, 
which were discovered a few years since in consequence of 
the sinking of the earth over a narrow apartment between 
them. These cells are deep under ground, vaulted over- 
head, and without windows. In one of them a wooden ma- 
chine was found, which some supposed might have been a 
rack, and in the other a quantity of human bones. The 
doors of these cells had been walled up and concealed with 
stucco, before the fort passed into the hands of the Americans. 

"You cannot be in St. Augustine a day without hearing 
some of its inhabitants speak of its agreeable climate, Dur- 
ing the sixteen days of my residence here, the weather has 



*j6 bloomfield's historical guide. 

certainly been as delightful as I could imagine. We have 
the temperature of early June as June is known in New 
York. The mornings are sometimes a little sultry; but 
after two or three hours a fresh breeze comes in from the 
sea, sweeping through the broad piazzas, and breathing in 
at the windows. At this season it comes laden with the 
fragrance of the flowers of the pride of India, and some- 
times of the orange tree, and sometimes brings the scent of 
roses, now in bloom. The nights are gratefully cool ; and 
I have been told by a person who has lived here many years, 
that there are very few nights in summer when you can 
sleep without a blanket. An acquaintance of mine, an in- 
valid, who has tried various climates, and has kept up a kind 
of running fight with death for many years, retreating from 
country to country as he pursued, declares to me that the 
winter climate of St. Augustine is to be preferred to that of 
any part of Europe, even that of Sicily, and that it is better 
than the climate of the West Indies. He finds it genial and 
equable, at the same time that it is not enfeebling. The 
summer heats are prevented from being intense by the sea- 
breeze, of which I have spoken. 

" I have looked over the work of Dr. Forry on the cli- 
mate of the United States, and have been surprised to see 
the uniformity of climate which he ascribes to Key West. 
As appears by the observations he has collected, the seasons 
at that place glide into each other by the softest gradations ; 
and the heat never, even in midsumrner, reaches that ex- 
treme which is felt in the higher latitudes of the American 
continent. The climate of Florida is, in fact, an insular cli- 
mate ;" the Atlantic on the east, and the Gulf of Mexico on 
the west, temper the airs that blow over it, making them 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 6 J 

ner in which they had been treated. Mr. Young promised 
to present their case to the governor and assured them if 
their statements could be proved, the governor would at 
once release them from the indentures by which TurnbuU 
claimed to control them. He advised them to return to New 
Smyrna and bring to St Augustine all who wished to leave 
New Smyrna and the service of TurnbuU. ' The envoys 
returned with the glad tidings that their chains were broken 
and that protection awaited them. TurnbuU was absent, 
but they feared the overseers, whose cruelty they dreaded. 
They met in secret and chose for their leader, Mr. Pellicier, 
who was head carpenter. The women and children with 
the old men were placed in the centre, and the stoutest men, 
armed with wooden spears, were placed in front and rear. 
In this order they set off, like the children of Israel, from a 
place that had proved an Egypt to them. So secretly had 
they conducted the transaction, that they proceeded some 
miles before the overseer discovered that the place was de- 
serted. He rode after the fugitives and overtook them be- 
fore they reached St Augustine, and used every exertion to 
persuade them to return, but in vain. On the third day they 
reached St. Augustine, where provisions were served out to 
thern by order of the governor. Their case was tried before 
the judges, where they were honestly defended by their 
friend, the attorney-general. TurnbuU could show no cause 
for detaining them, and their freedom was fully established. 
Lands were offered them at New Smyrna, but they sus- 
pected some trick was on foot to get them into TurnbulUs 
hands, and besides they detested the place where they had 
suffered so much. Lands were therefore assigned them in 
the north parj: of the city, where they have built houses and 



68 bloomfield's historical guide. 

cultivated gardens to this day. Some by industry have ac- 
quired large estates ; they at this time form a respectable 
part of the population of the city.' " 

It will be seen by the date of their removal to St. Augus- 
tine that the unfavorable comments of Romans and the 
Englishman, whose letter he quotes, upon the population of 
the town at the cession to Great Britain, could not have 
referred to the immigrants who came over under contract 
with Turnbull. It will also be seen that Williams speaks 
in very complimentary terms of these people and their 
descendants. I am pleased to quote from an earlier ac- 
count a very favorable, and, as I believe, a very just tribute 
to the worth of these Minorcan and Greek settlers and 
their children. Forbes, in his sketches, says: "They set- 
tled in St. Augustine, where their descendants form a num- 
erous, industrious, and virtuous body of people, distinct 
alike from the indolent character of the Spaniards, and 
the rapacious habits of some of the strangers who have 
visited the city since the exchange of flags. In their duties 
as small farmers, hunters, fishermen, and other laborious, 
but useful, occupations, they contribute more to the real 
stability of society than any other class of people. Gener- 
ally temperate in their mode of life, and strict in their moral 
integrity, they do not yield the palm to the denizens of 
the land of steady habits. Crime is almost unknown among 
them. Speaking their native tongue, they move about dis- 
tinguished by a primitive simplicity and purity as remarkable 
as their speech." Many of the older citizens, now living, 
remember the palmetto houses which used to stand in the 
northern part of the town, built by the people who came up 
from Smyrna. By their frugality and industry the descen- 



ST. AUGUSTINE. 7/ 

cooler in summer and warmer in winter. I do not wonder, 
therefore, that it is so much the resort of invahds ; it would 
be more so if the softness of its atmosphere and the beauty 
and serenity of its seasons were generally known. Nor 
should it be supposed that accommodations for persons in 
delicate health are wanting ; they are, in fact, becoming 
better with every year, as the demand for them increases. 
Among the acquaintances whom I have made here, I re- 
member many who having come hither for the benefit of 
their health, are detained for life by the amenity of the cli- 
mate. ' It seems to me,' said an intelligent gentleman of this 
class, the other day, ' as if I could not exist out of Florida. 
When I go to the North, I feel most sensibly the severe ex- 
tremes of the weather ; the climate of Charleston itself 
appears harsh to me.' 

"The negroes of St. Augustine are a good-looking speci- 
men of the race, and have the appearance of being very well 
treated. You rarely see a negro in ragged clothing, and the 
colored children, though slaves, are often dressed with great 
neatness. In the colored people whom I saw in the Catholic 
church I remarked a more agreeable, open, and gentle phys- 
iognomy than I have been accustomed to see in that class. 

" Some old customs which the Minorcans brought with them 
from their native country are still kept up. On the evening 
before Easter Sunday, about eleven o'clock, I heard the sound 
of a serenade in the streets. Going out I found a party of 
young men with instruments of music grouped about the 
window of one of the dwellings, singing a hymn, in honor 
of the Virgin, in the Mahonese dialect. They began, as I 
am told, with tapping on the shutter. An answering knock 
within had told them that their visit was welcome, and they 



^8 bloomfield's historical guide. 

immediately began the serenade. If no reply had been 
heard they would have passed on to another dwelling. This 
hymn is composed of ten stanzas, and is called the Froina,- 
jardis. 

" Sherivarees are parties of idle people, who dress them- 
selves in grotesque masquerade whenever a widow or wid- 
ower is married. They often parade about the streets and play 
buffoon tricks for two or three days, haunting the residence 
of the new-married pair, and disturbing the whole city with 
noise and riot. 

''' The Carnival is a scene of masquerading, which was for- 
merly celebrated by the Spanish and Minorcan populations 
with much taste and gayety ; but since the introduction of 
an American population it has, during the whole winter, 
been prostituted to cover drunken revels and to pass the 
basest objects of society into the abodes of respectable 
people, to the great annoyance of the civil part of the com- 
munity. 

" Thpse and other customs have long since ceased to 
exist, and many are already forgotten. One of these was 
' shooting the Jews,' originally a religious ceremony, but 
afterwards a diversion. For many years it was the custom 
to hang effigies at the street corners and upon the Plaza 
on the evening of Good Friday. When the bells in the 
cathedral, which are never rung during Good Friday, began 
on Saturday morning at ten o'clock to ring the Hallelujah, 
crowds of men in the streets commenced to shoot with 
guns and pistols at the hanging effigies. This was continued 
until some unerring marksman severed the cord about the 
neck of the image, or perhaps it was riddled and shredded 
by the fusilade." 



ST. AUGUSTINE, 79 

ST. AUGUSTINE DURING THE CIVIL WAR. 

^' The naval forces of the United States took possession 
of St. Augustine in 1862. Batteries had been mounted at 
the fort, and a small garrison of Confederate troops were in* 
military occupation of the place, but too few in numbers to 
offer any resistance, and the city was surrendered by the 
civil authorities upon the demand of Captain Dupont. The 
Fourth New Hampshire regiment first garrisoned the city. 
The old fort was brushed up and repaired, the earthworks 
strengthened, and barracks built on the platform. Occa- 
sionally reconnoitring parties of Confederates approached 
the town, and on one occasion a festive party of officers, 
who had gone out to Mr. Solana's, near Picolata, to attend 
a dance, were captured, with their music and ambulance, by 
Captain Dickinson, celebrated for many daring exploits. It 
was even believed that this daring partisan had ridden 
through the city art night in the guise of a Federal cavalry 
officer. On another occasion the commanding officer of the 
garrison at St. Augustine was captured, on the road from 
Jacksonville, by a Confederate picket. . The inhabitants, iso- 
lated from all means of obtaining supplies from without the 
lines, were reduced to great straits. The only condition 
upon which they were allowed to purchase was the accept- 
ance of an oath of loyalty. Sympathizing strongly with 
the South they were placed in an unfortunate position, and 
many doubtless suffered greatly. At one period those of 
the citizens who had relatives in the Confederate service were 
ordered to leave the city. Then ensued a scene which beg- 
gars description. Men, women, and children were huddled 
on board a vessel, and, homeless and helpless, were carried 
along the coast, and disembarked, shelterless, on the banks 



8o bloomfield's historical guide. 

of the Nassau River, to make their way to food and shelter 
as best they could — hardships which hardly seemed called 
for by any military necessity. Many of the young men of 
the city went into the Confederate service and served through 
the war with distinction, but many fell victims on the battle- 
field, in the hospitals, or from exposure to the rigorous cli- 
mate of Virginia and Tennessee, to which they were unac- 
customed. 

" To these misfortunes succeeded to all sales and forcible 
deprivation of property under the most rigorous construc- 
tion of most rigorous laws. The unsettling of titles and the 
loss of means have combined to lessen the ability of the 
people to do more than try to live, without much effort to 
improve their homes and the appearance of the city."* 

THE ST. JOHN'S RIVER. 

This magnificent and capacious body of water, character- 
ized for its waywardness by the Indians as " We-la-ka," 
meaning that " It has its own way " — flows through East 
Florida, almost due northward, for 400 miles, until Jack- 
sonville is reached. It then runs directly east into the At- 
lantic Ocean. It seems to be formed by the numerous 
small streams from the unexplored regions of the Ever- 
glades, though its real source is unknown. There are but 
few streams in the world that present a more tropical ap- 
pearance along their whole course. We find orange groves 
— bitter and sweet — dipping their gold-dappled boughs into 
its tepid waters ; on its banks rises the stately magnolia^ 



* Fairbanks's St. Augustine. 



ST. AUGUSTINE. . . 8 1 

in all its pride, steeping the atmosphere in its rich perfume. 
The waters of this noble stream are of a dark-blue, and 
slightly brackish in taste, as far up as Lake George. 

The banks of the St. John's are the principal attraction to 
invalids in search of pleasant surroundings. Thousands of 
visitors are scattered among its towns and villages every 
winter, while some few bring camp equipages and pitch 
their tents in the picturesque forests. 

The means of access to all points on the river are easy 
and comfortable. 

Mulberry Grove, on the west bank of the river, 12 miles 
from Jacksonville, is the first landing. There is a beautiful 
grove here, a very pleasant resort for picnic parties. 

Mandarin, Duval County, Florida, 15 miles from Jackson- 
ville, on the east bank; post-office; population, 250. A 
convent has been recently established here by the Bishop 
of Florida, and is now inhabited by the Sisters of Mercy. 
•Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe resides here ; she has a pleas- 
ant cottage, surrounded by 40 acres of land, several of which 
are planted with orange trees. 

This was once the scene of a dreadful massacre by the 
Seminole Indians. Market gardening is extensively engaged 
in at this point. 

Just beyond this place can be seen the wreck of the Fed- 
eral transport " Maple Leaf," destroyed by a torpedo during 
the war. 

Orange Park, Clay County, Florida, on the west bank of 
the river, 1 5 miles from Jacksonville ; post-office. 

Hibernia, Clay County, Florida, 23 miles from Jackson- 
ville, on the west bank ; post-office. A pleasant and con- 
venient resort for invalids. 

6 



82 bloomfield's historical guide. 

Magnolia, Clay County, Florida, 28 miles from Jackson- 
ville, on west bank ; post-office. This is one of the most 
pleasant places on the river, having fine hotel accommo- 
dations. It is much frequented by Northerners. Near this 
place, to the northward, is Black Creek, which is navigable 
for small steamers as far as Middleburg. A pleasant walk 
of one mile brings you to 

Green Cove Springs^ Clay County, Florida, 30 miles from 
Jacksonville, on the west bank ; post-office. The principal 
attraction here is the fine spring, from which the place de- 
rives its name. The waters of this spring are strongly im- 
pregnated with sulphur, and have a temperature of about 75 
degrees, well adapted for rheumatism and dyspepsia. The 
bathing facilities are well arranged. This place boasts of 
two fine hotels and a number of boarding-houses, 

Florence, formerly Hogartks Wharf, St. John's County, 
Florida, 35 miles from Jacksonville, on the east bank ; post- 
office and wood landing. 

Picolata, St. John's County, Florida, 40 miles from Jack- 
sonville, on the east bank ; post-office. This is the site of 
an ancient Spanish city, with a fine church and monasteries, 
erected two centuries ago by Franciscan friars. All that 
remains at this historical point now is a cabin and field 
grown up with weeds. This was formerly the landing for 
St. Augustine, having been used as such until the comple- 
tion of the St. John's Railroad. Opposite Picolata are the 
remains of Fort Poppa, erected during the Spanish era. 

Tocoi, St. John's County, Florida, 49 miles from Jackson- 
ville, on the east bank ; post-office. Here connection is 
made by the St. John's Railroad with St. Augu-stine, distant 
14 miles. 



ST. John's river. 83 

Federal Point, Putnam County, Florida, 58 miles from 
Jacksonville, on the east bank of the river ; post-office and 
wood landing. This place is becoming noted for its choice 
fruits. Strawberry culture is an important industry. 

Orange Mills, Putnam County, Florida, 63 miles from 
Jacksonville, on the east bank ; post-office. Beautiful orange 
groves here. 

Dancey's Landing, one mile further south, has one of the 
oldest orange groves on the river, the fruit from which is 
always sought after. 

Oak Villa^ on the opposite side of the river; post-office 
and mail-boat landing. 

Pilatka, Putnam County, Florida, 75 miles from Jackson- 
ville, on the west bank of the river; population 2500. This 
is the chief town south of Jacksonville, both in commercial 
importance and as a health and pleasure-seeking resort. It 
has ample hotel accommodations. The Putnam House, the 
Larkin, St. John's, and Carleton are all fine houses, and 
during the season are overflowing with guests; post and tele- 
graph offices and two weekly papers. The streets are 
shaded by wild orange trees, some of which are in full fruit 
and flower at the same time, giving a beautiful appearance 
to the town. Pilatka was an old military post in the Indian 
wars, and many buildings now standing are built on the 
frames or with the timbers of the old quarters, the engine- 
house being the old magazine. 

San Mateo, Putnam County, Florida, 80 miles from Jack- 
sonville, on the east bank of the river, 80 feet above its level. 

Welaka, Putnam County, Florida, 100 miles from Jack- 
sonville, an old town, and having had at one time some com- 
mercial importance, as well as a population of 1000. It is 



84 bloomfield's historical guide. 

situated at the mouth of the Ocklawaha River, and was 
formerly the terminus of the boats engaged in that trade. 
There is a hotel at this point and several stores. The ad- 
jacent country is well settled up with industrious and enter- 
prising people, who have been quite successful in orange 
culture and vegetable-growing. The sulphur spring near 
by is famous for its medicinal virtues. 

Nofwalk, Putnam County, Florida, 103 miles from Jack- 
sonville, is a new settlement, but a thriving one, in the midst 
of a fine orange-growing section. 

Mount Royal, Putnam County, Florida, 105 miles from 
Jacksonville, is an old English settlement, and famous in 
the early history of the country. A sulphur spring, said to 
possess wonderful curative powers in rheumatic affections, 
is close by. 

Fruitland, Putnam County, Florida, 105 miles from Jack- 
sonville. This point is the landing for a large settlement in 
the country back of it, which has many advantages of soil, 
scenery, etc. 

Fort Gates, Putnam County, Florida, 106 miles from Jack- 
sonville, on the west bank of the river, was a military post 
during the Seminole war. Six miles from here is the famous 
salt springs. Lake Kerr is also near ; it is considered one 
of the finest hunting-grounds near the St. John's, and is a 
most beautiful sheet of water. Fort Gates has a fine loca- 
tion, with a beautiful view of Lake George. 

Georgetown, Putnam County, Florida, 1 13 miles from Jack- 
sonville, on the east bank of the river, is a shipping-point 
of some importance for oranges. 

Drayton Island, the largest island in the St. John's River, 
116 miles from Jacksonville, contains some 1800 acres of 



LAKE GEORGE. 85 

good soil, once largely cultivated in cotton and sugar. It 
was the seat of a powerful tribe of Indians, who had their 
plantations here. It is now extensively devoted to the pro- 
duction of oranges and early vegetables. 

Lake George, 115 miles from Jacksonville. This beauti- 
ful sheet of water is about 18 miles in length, and 10 miles 
in width. This lake has a number of islands in it ; the 
largest is called Drayton Island. The lake is well stocked 
with fish and water-fowl of every description. Approaching 
the southern shore, clothed in eternal verdure, the mouth 
of the river is scarcely distinguishable on account of its di- 
minished width and the blending of forest and stream. 
Near the mouth the water is very shallow, not exceeding 
five feet in depth. Efforts have been made towards its im- 
provement by jetties. 

Seville, on the east side of Lake George, is a post-office. 

Volusia, Volusia County, Florida, 1 34 rniles from Jack- 
sonville, on the east bank of the river ; post-office. This 
is also the site of an ancient Spanish settlement, no vestige 
of which remains. An immense land grant was afterwards 
obtained here from the Spanish government by Mr. Denni- 
son RoUes, an English merchant of wealth, who erected a 
beautiful mansion and established a home for the unfortu- 
nate women from the streets of London, with a view to their 
reformation. Numerous disasters befell the colony, and it 
was finally broken up. 

Emporia is a new town, started in the interior ; distance 
from Volusia about four miles, amidst pine land. 

Astor^ Orange County, Florida, northern terminus of the 
St. John's and Lake Eustis Railway, 1 34 miles from Jack- 
sonville, on the west side of the river. 



86 bloomfield's historical guide. 

Manhattan^ Orange County, Florida, is a landing on the 
west side of the river, 136 miles from Jacksonville. 

Bluffton, Volusia County, Florida, 140 miles from Jack- 
sonville, on the east side of the river ; post-office. South 
and east of this point are Lake Dexter and Spring Garden 
Lake, on the east side of which are very rich lands and large 
orange groves. 

Hawkinsville, Orange County, Florida, 160 miles from 
Jacksonville, on the west side of the river, is a post-office. 

De Land Landing, Volusia County, Florida, 162 miles from 
Jacksonville, on the east side of the river, is a landing. De 
Land is 5 miles from this river landing. A stage line con- 
nects with mail-boats. 

Beresford, Volusia County, Florida, 163 miles from Jack- 
sonville, is a post-office, on the east side of Lake Beresford. 
There are several landings and orange groves on this lake. 

Blue Spiking, Volusia County, Florida, 168 miles from 
Jacksonville, is a landing on the east side of the river. 
Orange City is two miles and a half from this landing. 
Stages connect with mail-boats. 

Sanford, Orange County, Florida, 193 miles from Jack- 
sonville, on the south side of Lake Monroe; a thriving town, 
with excellent hotel accommodations, and a favorite resort 
of tourists and invalids. 

Mellenville is the site of Fort Mellen, erected during the 
Indian wars. In the vicinity are several fine orange groves. 
It possesses hotel and boarding facilities. Its post-office is 
located at Sanford. 

Enterprise, Volusia County, Florida ; county seat ; situated 
on the north side of Lake Monroe ; 198 miles from Jackson- 
ville. Excellent hotel, and transportation facilities for hunt- 



OCKLAWAHA RIVER. 8/ 

ing parties and tourists. One mile from the hotel is the 
Green Sulphur Springs, the waters of which are transparent 
and of a delicate green color. Near Enterprise are the resi- 
dence and extensive orange grove of Fred, de Bary, Esq., 
the owner of the Merchant Line of Steamers on the St. 
John's River. 

Lake Jessup, lo miles south of Lake Monroe: Lake 
Harney, 1 5 miles southeast of Lake Monroe ; Salt Lake, the 
landing for Titusville, distant 6 miles ; and the Indian River. 
Lake Poinsett, the head of navigation on the upper St. John's, 
is the landing for Rock Ledge on the Indian River, distant 
2^ miles. 

OCKLAWAHA RIVER. 

This most singular stream, flowing into the St. John's op- 
posite Weldaka, was not fully explored until the year 1867. 
For over 150 miles it runs parallel with the St. John's from 
Lake Apopka, which is its source, through Lakes Harris, 
Eustis, Griffin, etc., and scarcely a house is to be seen along 
its course after leaving the lakes, but now and then a land- 
ing, with its rich freights of cotton, sugar, oranges, etc., the 
products of the fertile counties of Putnam and Marion. On 
account of the narrowness of the stream, and the dense foli- 
age on the banks, its navigation is somewhat difficult. 

No visitor to Florida should fail to visit Silver Spring, 
which rises suddenly from the ground, and, after running 9 
miles through Silver Run, empties into the Ocklawaha, 100 
miles from its mouth. This spring is one of the wonders of 
this tropical clime ; its waters are seventy-five feet or more 
in depth, and so transparent that the glistening sand on the 
bottom looks as if but a few inches beneath the surface. 



SS bloomfield's historical guide. 

The principal landings on the Ocklawaha are : 

Davenporfs, 12 miles from St. John's River, east side. 

Boyd's^ east side, 19 miles from St. John's River. 

Cedar, east side, 29 miles from St. John's River. 

Fort Brooke, west side, 35 miles from St. John's River; a 
military station during the Indian War ; formerly connected 
by road across to St. John's River, and was the distributing 
point for supplies for the army and the western interior. 

Orange Creek, west side, 37 miles from St. John's River; 
landing for Orange Springs; post-office. At this town is 
one of the largest sulphur springs in the State ; in former 
days, a popular health resort. There are many fine orange 
groves now in this locality. 

Payne's, west side, 49 miles from St. John's River. A 
treaty with the Indians was consummated here in 1844, 
Generals Harney, Taylor, and Duval officiating. 

lola, west side, 50 miles from St. John's River; formerly 
a shipping-point for products of the Orange Lake region ; 
distant 6 miles. 

Log, west side, 59 miles from St. John's River; Fort Mc- 
Coy Settlement. 

Eureka, west side, 61 miles from St. John's River; post- 
office. Near this landing is the famous Cypress Gate of the 
Ocklawaha River, there being two large cypress trees, mak- 
ing a narrow passage, between which the boats pass. 

Sunday Bluff, on the east side, 70 miles from the St. 
John's River, derives its name from the action of Rev. Mr. 
Porter, who, in freighting by barges upon this river, would 
stop at this bluff and hold religious service on Sundays. 

Palmetto Landing, on the west side, 80 miles from the St. 



HALIFAX AND INDIAN RIVERS. 89 

John's River; probably derives its name from the dense 
forest of palmetto trees adjacent. 

Durisosa, on the east side, 90 miles from St. John's River. 

Graham's Landing, on the east side, 1 00 miles from St, 
John's River. 

Grahamville, on the east side, 102 miles from St. John's 
River; post-office. 

Silver Spring Run, 108 miles from St. John's River. This 
is the confluence of the waters of Silver Spring with the 
Ocklawaha River. No place in Florida is so widely known 
as this wonderful pool. A river, deep, rapid, and pellucid, 
flowing impetuously from a great cave in the depth of the 
fountain-head ; it is a sight to call forth at once the admira- 
tion and wonder of the most stoical of travellers. The 
spring is forty-five feet deep and six hundred feet in diameter. 
The source of this marvellous and unfailing flood is a mys- 
tery. Silver Run, which leads to the Ocklawaha River, is 9 
miles in length, and is navigated by steamers, which land at 
the spring, floating on its pellucid tide, with ample room 
for a fleet. Fish of great size, and often huge alligators, 
may be s,een floating in the depths, apparently oblivious of 
impending danger. 

HALIFAX AND INDIAN RIVERS. 

Matanzas, 18 miles south of St. Augustine. This section 
is considered an excellent hunting and fishing ground. This 
is noted as the location of the massacre of the Huguenots 
by the cruel Menendez, the founder of St. Augustine. 

New Britain, on the Halifax River, 1 5 miles from Mos- 
quito Inlet, and Daytona, on the same river, 10 miles from 
Mosquito Inlet, are flourishing settlements. 



go BLOOMFIELDS HISTORICAL GUIDE. 

Porl Orange^ 6 miles south of Daytona, on the west bank 
of the Halifax River, 4 miles north of Mosquito Inlet, pos- 
sesses many fine orange groves, and is a growing and thriv- 
ing settlement. 

New Smyrna^ on the Hillsborough River, near the coast, 
and 3 miles south of Mosquito Inlet. 

Daytona is located 7 miles south of New Britain, on the 
Halifax River, and 8 miles north of Mosquito Inlet, possesses 
a good hotel, and boarding-houses, store, post-office, and 
other facilities. 

Titusville, formerly Sand Point, on Indian River, nearly 
opposite Merritt's Island. This point is the eastern terminus 
of the Indian River Railroad. 

City Point, 1 5 miles south of Titusville ; Georgiana, on 
Merritt's Island, 35 miles from Titusville, and Eau Gallic, 
10 miles south of Georgiana, are the principal settlements 
on Indian River. This last-named point is the seat of the 
State Agricultural College. 

This section is the sportsman's paradise, abounding in 
game and fish. No portion of Florida is more inviting to 
the hunter or angler. The difficulty of transportation, which 
formerly deterred many from visiting this portion of the 
State, has been almost entirely removed, and the ever-increas- 
ing number of visitors each season is abundant evidence of 
its varied attractions. 

POINTS ON THE ST. JOHN'S, 

SHOWING DISTANCES FROM JACKSONVILLE. 

Sailing south is termed goi7ig up the river. Points marked 
with a star ^ are on the right going up. 



POINTS ON THE ST. JOHNS. 



91 



Arlington, 

St. Nicholas, . 

Riverside,* 

Black Point,* . 

Read's Landing,* 

Mandarin, 

Orange Park,* 

Fruit Cove, 

Hibernia,* 

New Switzerland, 

Remington Park, 

Magnolia,* 

Green Cove Spring, 

Orange Dale, . 

Hogarth's Landing, 

Picolata, . 

Tocoi, 

Federal Point, 

Orange Mills, . 

Cook's Landing, 

Dancey's Wharf, 

Russell's Point, 

Whetstone,* . 

Russell's Landing, 

Pilatka,* 

Hart's Orange Grove, 

Rawlestown, . 

San Mateo, 

Edgewater, 

Buffalo Bluff,* 

Horse Landing,* 

Smith's Landing, 

Nashua, , 

Welaka, . 

Ocklawaha River,* 

Beecher, 

Orange Point, 

Norwalk,* 

Mt. Royal, 



MILES. 

2 
2 

3 
10 

13 
15 
15 
19 

22 

23 
25 
28 

30 

34 

38 

45 
52 
60 
64 

65 
66 
67 
68 
69 

75 
75 
78 
80 
80 
88 

94 
96 

97 
100 

lOI 
lOI 

102 
103 
106 



92 



bloomfield's historical guide. 



Fruitlands, 
Fort Gates,* . 
Georgetown, . 
Racemo, 
Lake George, . 
Orange Point, . 
Drayton Island,^ 
Salt Springs,* . 
Benella,* 
Yellow Bluff,* 
Spring Garden,* 
Seville, . 
Spring Grove, 
Lake View, 

Astor, St. J. & L. E 

Volusia, . 

Fort Butler,* . 

Manhattan,* . 

Orange Bluff, . 

St. Francis,* . 

Old Town,* . 

Crow's Landing,* 

Hawkinsville,* 

Cabbage Bluff, 

De Land's Landing 

Lake Beresford, 

Blue Spring, . 

Wekiva, . 

Manuel Landing, 

Shell Bank, . 

San ford,* 

Mellenville,* . 

Fort Reid,* 

Enterprise, 

Cook's Ferry, . 

Lake Harney, 

Sallie's Camp, 

Salt Lake, 

Indian River, . 



R.R 



MILES. 
III 

112 

ii3 

iI3 

114 
119 

120 

121 
122 

126 
126 
132 

137 
138 

139 
140 

156 

1 60 
162 
162 
166 
172 
184 
185 

193 
199 
200 
203 
205 
224 
225 
229 
270 
276 



ON THE OCKLAWAHA. 



93 



From Astor by St. J. & L. K R.R., to : 

MILES. 

Lake Eustis, ......... 25 

Fort Mason, •25 

Leesburg, . . . 51 

From Sanford by S. F. R.R., to: 

Lake Maitland, ........ 23 

Orlando, 25 

From Enterprise to: 

Smyrna, . ......... 30 

Halifax, .....;.... 35 

Titusville, 50 



ON THE OCKLAWAHA. 

The following are the points on this stream, giving the 
distances from Pilatka: 



Moutli of Ocklawaha, 

Davenport Landing, 

Blue Spring, . 

Cedar Landing, 

Fort Brook, 

Orange Spring Landing, 

Mahlehet Shoals, . 

Orange Lake Landing, 

lola, 

Forty-Foot Bluff, . 

Log Landing, 

Giliis Creek, . 

Eureka, , 

Sunday Bluff, 

Pine Island, . 

Palmetto Landing, . 

Gore's Landing, 

Durisoe's, . . . 

Grahamsville Landing, 



MILES. 

26 

34 

54 

55 
61 

63 

75 
76 

80 

85 
90 

94 
96 

97 
102 
108 
114 
118 



94 



bloomfield's historical guide. 



Limpkin Bluff, 
Delk's BlufF, 
Silver Spring Run, . 
Silver Spring, 
Merreseu's Landing, 
Lake Ware Landing, 
Moss's Blufif, . 
Stark Landing, 

Slighville, 

Leesburg, 

Lake Griffin P. O., 

Lovell's Landing, 

Fennetvella, . 

Fort Mason, . 

Pendryville, . 

Yal-aha, 

Helena, . 

Okeehumkee P. O., 

Distances from Jacksonville to 

Savannah, 

Charleston, . 

Augusta, 

Columbia, 

Charlotte, 

Florence, 

Richmond, Va., 

Washington, 

Baltimore, . . 

Philadelphia, 

New York, 

Boston, 

Nashville, 

Cincinnati, 

St. Louis, 

Chicago, 

Memphis, 

Louisville, 



MILBS. 
122 
I26>^ 

127 

146 

151 

154 
186 
194 
204 
209 
220 
224 
230 

233 
260 

273 
275 



172 

287 
172 

389 
495 
389 
748 
86s 
907 
1005 

109s 
1322 

653 
837 
1030 
1131 
885 
838 



MAX BLOOMFIELD'S CATALOGUE 



ov — 



VIEWS OF ST. AUGUSTINE. 

ST. JOHN'S AND OCKLAWAHA RIVERS, AND 
OTHER SECTIONS OF FLORIDA. 

UNDOUBTEDLY THE FINEST COLLECTION IN FLORIDA. 

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY INTERESTINO 

SUBJECTS TO PICK FROM. 

ONLY 50 OTS. A DOZEN! 50 OTS.! 

AND FINER THAN THE VIEVv^S SOLD ANYWHERE IN 
THE WORIiD FOR $1.50. 

EXAMINE THE CONTENTS, 

ORDERS BY MAIL PROMPTLY ATTENDED TO. 

In ordering by mail, always add 10 cents extra for each dozen to pay 
for postage. Address all orders to Max Bloomfield, St. Augustine, 
Florida, next door to the Post-Office. 

Parties ordering Views will please give numbers instead of names. 



BLOOMFIKLD'S CATALOGUE 

OF 

VIEWS OF ST. AUGUSTINE. 
Fort Series. 

1 . Full view of Fort Marion from the Sea-wall. — A splendid 
view from the south. 

2. Water Battery^ showing furnace shot-house and curves 
upon which cannon rested. 

3. Water Battery, with full view of battery, with promenaders. 

4. Ramparts of the fort, with an excellent view of St. Au- 
gustine. 

5. Southwest angle of the fort, showing its great architec- 
tural beaut}^ 

6. Southwest angle of the fort, showing the drawbridge. 

7. Intetior of Fort Marion. — One of the most interesting pic- 
tures in the catalogue, showing the chapel and the entrance 
to the subterranean dungeon. 

8. Watch Tower, looki^ig seaward. — There it stands, like a 
silent sentinel. Who can tell how many brave men have 
gazed through its loop-holes, with beating hearts, watching 
the relentless foe ? 

9. The Wild Cat Dungeon, famous for holding within its four 
walls the bravest and most daring Seminole chief that ever 
lived, who made one of the most remarkable escapes from 
prison that was ever known. 

10. Spanish Coat of Arms,- owtr the doorway of the fort, a 
translation of which will be found in Bloomfield's Historical 
Guide of St. Augustine. 

11. Lock of the Subterranean Dungeon, a great curiosity. 

12. Doorway, Fort Marion. — A fine view, showing how the 
drawbridge was pulled in when war, with its fiery brand, 

appeared. 

7 ( 97 ) 



98 bloomfield's historical guide. 

1 3. Drawbridge and entrance to fort, with Anastasia Island 
in the distance. 

14. Moat Drawbridge, showing an excellent view of the 
moat, which contained water m the olden time, and was about 
four feet deeper. 

STREETS IN ST. AUGUSTINE. 

15. Hospital Street, showing the old Spanish house, in 
the rear of which the famous Spanish corridors stand. 

16. St. George Street, showing the old, old convent, now 
torn down, the site being occupied by the fine establishment 
of the publisher of this catalogue. 

17. St. George Street^ showing the old Spanish Treasury- 
walls. The Florida House- now occupies the site. 

18. St. George Street, showing the old Spanish portion. 

19. Treasury Street, looking east. 

20. Treasury Street, looking west. The narrowest street 
in the city, being only seven feet wide. 

21. Charlotte Street, looking south. 

22. Charlotte Street, looking north. 

23. Charlotte Street, from St. Augustine Hotel. 

24. St. Francis Street. — A very characteristic view, show- 
ing the oldest wall now standing, over which leans a date 
palm tree, which the oldest inhabitants remember to have 
stood, just as it stands now, when they were children. 

OBJECTS OP INTEREST IN ST. AUGUSTINE. 

25. The Spanish Cathedral. 

26. The Spanish Cathedral and monument in Plaza. 

27. The Spanish Cathedral and St. Augustine Hotel. 



VIEWS OF ST. AUGUSTINE. 99 

28. The Exterior of the Cathedral strikes the visitor at 
once with the quaintness of its architecture. It is one of the 
oldest houses of worship in America. 

29. Interior of Spanish Cathedral. — A very interesting 
view, showing this grand old structure in all its antique 
beauty, a view every visitor should purchase. 

30. First Mass in St. Augustine. — This view is taken from 
a large oil painting in the Cathedral. It shows you the first 
mass celebrated in America, in 1565. 

31. Interior of the Convent. — The convent is quite an inter- 
esting place to visit. You can obtain fine hand-made laces and 
other rare fancy articles manufactured by the good Sisters. 

32. The Old Slave Market, facing the Sea-wall, in the Plaza, 
is one of the most interesting views in the " ancient city." 

33. Spanish Graveyard, showing some of the oldest tombs 
in the country. 

34. New Light-house, showing Anastasia Island. 

35. New Light-house. Large. This is one of the finest on 
the Atlantic coast, the light alone costing ;^ 16,000. Well 
worth a visit. You can easily from the light-house reach 
the Coquina Quarries. 

36. United States Barracks. 

37. Sea-wall, looking south. 

38. Sea-wall^ looking north. 

Both views give an excellent idea of the water-front. 

39. Old Spanish Light-house. The ruins of which can still 
be seen on Anastasia Island, a short distance from the New 
Light-house. 

40. Pyramids of Major Dade, in the Post Cemetery, a full 
account of which is given in Bloomfield's Gidde of St. Au- 
gustine. . 



100 BLOOMFIELD S HISTORICAL GUIDE. ' 

41. Plaza — St. Augustine. 

42. Plaza — zvith ''Lightning Express !' or "Florida 
Cracker." 

These views show both monuments, and are very inter- 
esting. 

43. An Orange Archway^ at Mrs. Ball's fine orange grove, 
on Tolomato Street. 

44. Episcopal Ch2irch. 

45. Interior of Episcopal Church. 

46. Inmates of Colored Home, showing some of the cooks 
and chambermaids of George Washington. 

47. A Birds-eye Viezv from Florida House, showing a 
great many objects of interest. 

48. Corridor of Old Spanish House, situated on Hospital 
Street, next door to Mrs. Foster's boarding-house ; this view 
gives a good idea of a Spanish house. 

49. Old City Gate, looking into St. George Street. 

50. Old City Gate, looking out on Shell Road. 

51. Old City Gate and Fort in the distance. This old 
structure creates more ideas, why it stands there, than any- 
thing in the city. 

52. Entrance to St. Augustine, through a lovely live-oak 
lane, admired by all. 

53. Monument in Plaza, erected in 18 12, "Plaza de la 
Constitucion." 

India?is — who were prisoners here from 1875 to 1878. 

54. Minimic and his Son. 

55. Howling Wolf. 

56. Indian Woman. 

57. Indians in Soldiers' Clothes. 

58. Indians in Native War Costume, 



bloomfield's historical guide. ioi 

OTHER VIEWS IN AND ABOUT ST. AUGUSTINE. 

59. Ball's Carriage Road, in Mrs. Ball's grove, showing 
orange arch. 

60. Productions of St. Augustine. This view shows the 
only real production. 

61. Hunting Slaves at Matanzas^ gives a good idea of how 
the runaway negro was caught before the war. 

62. Mag?zolia Grove, about five miles from St. Augustine, 
showing the live oaks in all their magnificence, draped with 
Spanish moss. 

63. Picking Oranges, at Dr. Anderson's grove. 

64. Uncle Jack — the oldest negro in St. Augustine. 

65. MoonligJit on Matanzas River. 

66. Fort Matanzas, an old, old relic. 

6j. An Hour's Search, sometimes called " Hunting in Flor- 
ida," at any rate a hunt that is always crowned with success. 

6Z. Date Tree, in Dr. Peck's yard, corner of Treasury and" 
St. George streets. 

69. Palmetto Tree, with Fort Matanzas in the distance. 

HOTELS AND PRIVATE BOARDING HOUSES. 

70. St. Augustine Hotel. 

71. Florida House. 

72. Magnolia Hotel. 

73. Sumiyside House. 

74. Tyler's House. 

75. Hazeltine House. 

76. Edwards's House, 
yy. Patterson House. 
78. De Me did s House, 



102 OCKLAWAHA RIVER VIEWS. 

79. Mrs. Hernandez's House. 

80. Mrs. Fostej^'s House. 

PRIVATE RESIDENCES. 

81. Mr. Ammidown's Residence. 
S2. Dr. Anderson's Residence. 

83. Mr. Spear's Residence. 

84. Mrs. BaWs Residence. 

85. Mr. Lorillard's Villa. 

86. Presbyterian Parsonage. 

O0KX.AWAHA RIVER VIEWS. 

87. Mouth of the Ocklazvaha River. 

88. Near Graham's Landing, Ocklawaha River. 

89. Swamps on the Ocklawaha River. 

90. The Long Stretch, Ocklawaha River. 

91. Palmetto La7tding, Ocklawaha River. 

92. Near Sandy Bluff, Ocklawaha River. 

93. The Long Beach, Ocklawaha River. 

94. Wilderness, Ocklawaha River. 

95. Leaning Tree, Ocklawaha River. 

96. Devil's Elbow, Ocklawaha River. 

97. Devil's Punch Bowl, Ocklawaha River. 

98. Blasted Tree, Ocklawaha River. 

99. Living Arch, Ocklawaha River. 

100. Great Cypress Gates, Ocklawaha River. 

1 01. Silver Springs, Ocklawaha River. 

These Ocklawaha River views are undoubtedly the finest 
taken, and every one should have them, for they depict the 
most wonderful scenery in Florida. 



VIEWS OF ST. AUGUSTINE. IO3 

FLORIDA— FRUITS, FLOWERS AND PLANTS. 

102. Orange Tree. 

103. Cocoaniit Tree. 

104. Ba7iana Blossom. 

105. Banana Tree with Fruit. 

106. Date Tree Blossom. 

107. Date Tree at Mrs. H. B. Stowe's Mandarin, 

108. Annunciation Lily. 

109. Spanish Bayonet in Blqssom. 
no. Cherokee Rose. 

111. Magnolia Blossom. 

112. Prickly Pear or Cactus. 

113. Scfub Palmettos. 

114. Live Oak Draped wth Moss. 

115. Group of Palmetto Trees. 

116. Pineapples, growing. 

SOUTHERN AND FLORIDA VIEWS. 

St. John's River Viezvs. — It is rather difficult to mention 
them singly, therefore, I can only say, that they are all ex- 
cellent views, taken from interesting points. I have 12 (M- 
ferent subjects. 

117. Mrs. MitcheWs Place, opposite Jacksonville. 

118. Entrance to Harfs Orange Grove, opposite Pilatka. 

119. A Tropical Scene, showing the alligator in his native 
home. 

120. Fifteenth Amendment, or the Darkey and his Mule. 

121. Canal, connecting Halifax River with Mosquito In- 
let, cut out of solid coquina rock. 

122. Camping in Florida. 

123. Cherubs — Real nigger angels, a long way after Ra- 
phael. 



104 bloomfield's historical guide. 

124. Florida Lightning Express, or " The Cracker's Rig." 

125. Mrs. H. B. Stowe's Residence, at Mandarin, with the 
Stowe party. 

126. Mrs. H. B. Stowe' s Place, without party. 

127. BatJmtg Pool, Green Cove Springs, 

128. Gfeen Cove Springs. 

129. Bonaventure at Savannah, Georgia, 

130. Fountains in Park, Savannah, Georgia. 

I have also a fine assortment of Cabinet and Large Mount 
views for portfoHos, at very reasonable rates. 



TOURIS TS, ATT ENTION. 

After you have purchased all the views you want, buy a copy of 

BLOOMFIELD'S 
ILLDSTRATED HISTORICAL (JOIDE OF ST. AU&USTINE 

in which all events of interest appertaining 
to the old town are recorded. , Price only 
50 cents. 

Containing also a Condensed Guide of the 
St. John's, Ocklawaha, Indian, and Halifax 
Rivers. 

The Map alone is worth the price. For 
sale by all booksellers and newsdealers in 
the State, or sent to any address on receipt 
of price, by MAX BLOOMFIELD, 

ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA. 



/\ 




PUBLICATIOIS ON FlQBM 




Bloomfield's Illustrated Historical Guide of St. Augustine, . $0 50 

De Soto and Florida, 1512-1568 [Shipp), 6 00 

Florida; Its Scenery, Climate, and History (Lanier), . . l 50 

Florida; For Tourists, Invalids, and Settlers [Barbour], . i 50 

Mooer's Orange Culture, 1 00 

Orange Insects— Illustrated (Ashmead), 1 00 

Manual of Gardening in Florida (Whitner), 50 

Colton's Map of Florida, 75 

Colton's Sectional Map of Florida, 1 25 

Dewhurst's History of St. Augustine, 1 25 

Fairbank's St. Augustine, 1 00 

Fairbank's History of Florida, 2 50 

Brinton's Guide of Florida, 35 

Southland (Upham), Describing Manatee River, .... 25 

The Ancient City (two numbers Harper's Magazine), ... 70 

Souvenir of St Augustine (Views), 35 

Views of the Sunny South (Album), 25 

Ancient City Gems (20 Views), 50 

Any of the above books mailed free of postage 
upon 1 eeeipt of price. Address all orders to 

MAX BLOOMFIELD, 

Bookseller, Stationer, and Newsdealer, 

ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA. 

P. S.— A few rare books on Florida and St. 
Augustine no^Ai^ on hand will be closed out at 
low figures. 






